The challenges keep mounting for Alex Caruso, who in three years on the West Side has solidified his reputation as the heartbeat of the Chicago Bulls defense.
With Stephen Curry and Kawhi Leonard in the rearview mirror and the Bulls coming off a 3-1 road trip that raised hopes the season might not end in the play-in games, Caruso faced one of the game’s hottest shooters who happened to be on a historic roll.
Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Dončić last week became the first player in NBA history to record five straight 35-point triple-doubles, and on Saturday he passed Russell Westbrook’s record with his sixth consecutive 30-point triple-double, pouring in 39 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over the lowly Detroit Pistons.
But the anticipated duel turned into a dud, as Dončić finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists in a 127-92 rout of the Bulls. While he didn’t reach his seventh straight 30-point triple-double, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Dončić still was shooting 3s with a 33-point lead midway through the fourth quarter before finally calling it a day.
His seventh straight 20-point triple-double tied a record shared by Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan.
“Got to give credit to Luka,” DeMar DeRozan said. “He was picking it apart.”
The Mavericks scored 44 points in the first quarter and blew the Bulls out of the United Center before the fans had settled into their seats.
“No excuse from our end, no matter how tough a road trip we just came off,” DeRozan said. “We’ve got to be ready to play. All these games mean something, and we’ve got to take advantage of it. But tonight was one of those nights it seemed nothing could go right for us.”
Dončić was on Caruso’s mind earlier Monday, knowing he would face a supersized task at the United Center.
“He’s a unique player and can do a lot of things,” Caruso said. “He’s 6-7 and 200-whatever playing the point. He can play pick-and-roll, can play iso, he’s a three-level scorer. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s one of the best players in the league for a reason.
“It’s always fun to play against some of the best players every night. Went from guarding Steph to Kawhi Leonard on the road in back-to-back games, and to come off a week of guarding Zion (Williamson) and Giannis (Antetokounmpo). For me, every night is a new, interesting challenge, and Luka’s diversity just brings another one.”
Dončić is one of those superstars whom fans want to see perform, even if they don’t necessarily want to see him beat their team as badly as he did Monday. Caruso’s smothering defense and ability to disrupt the opposition’s best scorers made this mid-March matchup that much more enticing — a battle of offensive and defense heavyweights.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers when Caruso played for the 2020 champions, said Caruso “loves the challenge of taking on the best offensive player, no matter what size.”
“You talk about hockey, he takes a couple hits,” Kidd said before the game. “He’s not afraid to give up his body for his team. He’s very disruptive.
“We anticipate he’s going to be on Luka and (Kyrie Irving) at some point, so it’s just understanding he’s going to play the passing lanes. His basketball IQ is extremely high, and he’s going to do everything to help his team win.”
Asked about the evolution of the point guard over the years that has led to stars like Dončić who can do everything on the court, Kidd said most teams back in the day had only one or two 3-point shooters.
“Today there are five guys out there that can shoot the 3,” he said. “You look at what Steph has done, what Luka is doing, the point guard position has changed. I said this when I was (coaching) in Milwaukee: Eventually there will be no positions. You’ve got your best five out there and you’re going to play, and they’re all going to be able to play each position.
“Hunt for the weak link on the defensive end. That’s what the game has turned into. … Also size. You look at Luka or talk about Magic (Johnson) or LeBron (James). LeBron is a point guard as much as we can label him as a small forward, or he may want to be (considered) power forward now.”
The Bulls, meanwhile, have slowly grown accustomed to playing without Zach LaVine, with DeRozan leading the way on the road trip with his usual fourth-quarter heroics. He was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday after scoring a league-high 48 fourth-quarter points for the week, including 19 in a win over the Sacramento Kings and 17 in a win over the Utah Jazz.
But they were never in Monday’s game, trailing 44-16 after the first quarter and shooting 39.3% from the field, including 20.6% (7-for-34) from 3-point range. Mavericks center and ex-Bull Daniel Gafford was 9-for-9. It got so ugly that Onuralp Bitim played 25 minutes and led the Bulls in scoring with 17 points off the bench.
With three games in four days, the Bulls are in another difficult stretch as they try to get into a more advantageous spot in the play-in tournament. They’re currently No. 9 in the East, 4 1/2 games behind the Miami Heat for No. 8 and five behind the Indiana Pacers for No. 7.
Obviously it would be better to be No. 8 and have two chances to advance to the playoffs than to be No. 9 or 10 and have to win both games to stay alive.
“Won some close games on the road, and that’s how you start accumulating a good record and moving up in the standings,” Caruso said. “It was good for us. Hopefully the guys can continue that, be confident and build off it.”
It’s a small sample size, of course, but was this the best the Bulls have played all season?
Caruso pointed to their record since the 5-14 start as evidence. But now less than a quarter of the season is left to try to snatch a better seed. It’s still an uphill fight but one they believe they can win.
“We’ve done a good job fighting back,” Caruso said. “It’s kind of at the point where every game matters. We lost a lot of close games early in the year, and as I pointed out, we won three on the road this last trip.
“It could have very easily been the opposite, where we were 10 games above .500 and everybody is singing our praises, and then we lose a bunch at the end. Now it’s flipped. I’d rather be hot late than early.”
Staying hot is the real challenge, and it was back to square one after Monday’s loss.
“It’s all about how we respond from here on out,” DeRozan said.
