On Sunday night at the Smoothie King Center, the Chicago Bulls overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans, 114-106, and raise their season record to 27-30.
For a Bulls team beset by injury after injury, it was an exuberant victory. Shortly after it was announced that Zach LaVine will miss the rest of the season because of foot surgery, Patrick Williams also said he would not be playing for the Bulls this season because of the same foot injury. Torrey Craig’s damaged knee will also lead him to lose two to four weeks of time.
Despite that, DeMar DeRozan, who finished with 24 points, including multiple shots in the closing seconds, and Nikola Vucevic, who finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds for his 500th career double-double, led the Bulls to an impressive victory over the Pelicans.
In an incredible 39 minutes, Ayo Dosunmu scored 21 points and dished out eight assists, while Coby White scored 16 points despite only making five of his 16 shots during the contest.
Refusing to give in to hardship
Deebo is aware of how vulnerable the Bulls are. DeRozan stated that despite playing a lot of minutes due to injuries, the remaining players need to maintain their mental toughness and resist giving in to hardship.
“It’s always easy when you have any type of adversity to fold, to make excuses, to give in, to pack it in, to whine, complain, you know,” “You don’t hear that from none of us. We just try to figure it out the best way we can.”
A balanced offensive attack in tonight's W 👏 pic.twitter.com/YLTFLlRXqW
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 26, 2024