The Chicago Bulls are beginning to dig into their position in the Eastern Conference standings.
With a 114-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, the Bulls improved to 27-30 as they continue to defend their ninth-place standing in the conference.
The Bulls are still 4 1/2 games back from the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, an increasingly steep climb to move any further in the in-season tournament seeding. But they are also effectively pulling away from the Atlanta Hawks, who now sit two games back in 10th place.
This chasm could widen as the Hawks face four weeks without leading scorer Trae Young, who will undergo surgery this week to address a torn ligament in his left hand.
Here are seven other takeaways from Sunday’s win:
1. Coby White finishes a quiet night with a bang.
The first three quarters of Sunday’s win were uncharacteristic for Coby White — five points on 1-for-10 shooting. Guard Herb Jones hounded White at the perimeter, blocking a 3-point attempt and poking away a steal in the first quarter. And the Pelicans met White with intense physicality at the rim, keeping him off balance from his typical downhill attack.
But White bounced back from the frustrating start to close for the Bulls, scoring 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter. White also grabbed two steals and an offensive rebound in the final quarter as the Bulls held off the Pelicans.
2. DeMar DeRozan reigns in the clutch.
It was a similarly quiet start for DeMar DeRozan, but the star delivered exactly when he was expected to in the fourth quarter. DeRozan scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, delivering crucial assists and baskets in the final five minutes.
The game-clinching play didn’t go how the Bulls planned. Center Nikola Vučević fumbled a pass in the paint, then recovered it to make a shot that ricocheted into DeRozan’s hands. The forward dribbled out behind the 3-point arc, then launched a shot when he wasn’t met with any defensive pressure at the perimeter.
The 3-pointer — DeRozan’s second of the game — sent the Bulls up by five points with 30 seconds remaining.
DeRozan has now scored 357 points in the fourth quarter this season, the sixth-highest tally in the league. He ranks third among all players in fourth-quarter points since the 2021-22 season, trailing only Kyrie Irving and De’Aaron Fox.
3. Ayo Dosunmu keeps stepping up.
With DeRozan and White logging the top volume of minutes in the entire NBA, the Bulls will need other players to step up regularly down the stretch of this season. Ayo Dosunmu did just that on Sunday, powering the offense through the first three quarters until the star duo kicked in to close out the game.
Dosunmu scored 18 of his 21 points and logged all eight of his assists in the first three quarters. He finished 3-for-6 from behind the arc and added three steals on the defensive end.
The win marked Dosunmu’s sixth consecutive game with at least two made 3-pointers. He shot 21-for-36 (58%) from 3-point range over that span of six games.
4. Mixing up the rotation.
The Bulls are having to find new ways to expand their roster after Patrick Williams joined Zach LaVine on the season-ending injury list this weekend. Against the Pelicans, this meant finding new ways to create size on the court, including a first-quarter stint for Terry Taylor.
A rotation featuring Jevon Carter, Dalen Terry, Ayo Dosunmu and Andre Drummond was successful throughout the second half, giving the Bulls a necessary blend of size and shooting. And Alex Caruso continued to outplay his size while creating defensive disruption on Zion Williamson.
5. Pelicans short-handed after suspensions.
The Pelicans were facing roster diminishment of their own after guard Jose Alvarado and forward Naji Marshall received suspensions for an altercation during a game against the Miami Heat on Friday.
Alvarado is suspended for three games while Marshall was only sidelined for Sunday’s matchup.
6. Third quarter ups and downs.
The third quarter has been a weak point for the Bulls, who slipped into a 12-point deficit coming out of the locker room after trailing by only three points at the half.
But they snapped back into a scoring rhythm at the end of the frame, scoring 11 consecutive points to close the third quarter — including a buzzer-beater from Jevon Carter. The Bulls retook a lead in the opening 11 seconds of the fourth quarter and trailed for only 11 seconds in the rest of the game.
7. Fast break fever.
The Bulls set the tempo in Sunday’s win, scoring 17 points on the fast break. This was fueled by a sloppy game from the Pelicans, who gave up 19 turnovers.
Ayo Dosunmu tallied three steals while Alex Caruso, Coby White, Jevon Carter and Dalen Terry added two each.
