Getty DeMar DeRozan (center), Chicago Bulls
DeMar DeRozan gave a sly smile before offering a sarcastic answer. Asked by veteran NBA writer whether there is something to the fact that his highest-scoring games as a member of the Chicago Bulls have come against the Lakers this year, DeRozan feigned ignorance.
“You think it’s a coincidence?” he said, laughing. “Ah, I don’t think so. It may be, I don’t know.”
Translation: No, no, it is definitely not a coincidence. The Compton native and former USC Trojan has clearly not forgiven the Lakers for not making him a priority acquisition when he was a free agent this summer, and has ensured they know they made a mistake.
In the first meeting of the teams in Los Angeles on November 15, it was 38 points for DeRozan, a season-high, as the Bulls won. In the second meeting, on Sunday in Chicago, DeRozan matched that, going for 38 again in a Bulls win.
After the game, DeRozan had a message for fellow star Zach LaVine (who played for UCLA), who is in the NBA’s health and safety protocols and won’t be back until after Christmas.
“It sucks not to have the rest of those guys, especially Zach, he makes my job a lot easier. I texted him after the game saying, ‘Get your a** back as soon as possible.’ Not having him out there, you definitely got to—you know more attention is going to be focused on you. Not having Zach out there, I just tried to pull a win out.”
DeRozan’s Take on Battle With Lakers’ LeBron James
For DeRozan, this performance was especially sweet, as he outdueled Lakers star LeBron James in the decisive fourth quarter, going for 19 of his 38, while James had nine points. The Lakers actually held a three-point lead with less than four minutes to play before DeRozan scored eight of the Bulls’ next 10 points to give Chicago the edge with 15 seconds to play. Two 3-point misses sealed L.A.’s fate.
Mr. 4th Quarter DeMar DeRozan scored 19 of his 38 POINTS in the 4th quarter of the win vs the Lakers 🔥
38 PTS | 6 AST | 4 REB
James had 31 points in the game. DeRozan tipped his hat to him.
“Utmost—he knows it, I’ve said it over and over—I got the utmost respect for LeBron,” DeRozan said. “Arguably, you could say, I competed against one of the all-time greatest players in my generation of basketball and it’s a blessing to be able to share the floor him from the playoff series to the All-Star games, being in the Eastern Conference, it’s definitely one of those situations that, when I am older, I can say I played against that guy.”
DeRozan Had Not Played in 2 Weeks
While there is some question about just what, exactly, the Lakers would have had to do this summer to get DeRozan to sign on to be a Laker—the Spurs did a sign-and-trade with the Bulls but have a history of not wanting to do anything to help the Lakers—DeRozan clearly did take personal satisfaction in the win.
DeRozan had been out for 15 days because of COVID-19 protocols before coming back to play against the Lakers. Said DeRozan:
I felt great. I was moreso before the Covid situation, I was banged up here and there. So, give my body time to heal, rest a little bit. I tried to be as active as I could. I was just stretching, jump-roping, push-ups, whatever I could do just to keep the blood flowing. As soon as I got out, I went to the gym at 1 o’clock in the morning, as soon as I was cleared, and just tried to get my rhythm back as quick as possible, move around. Just try to get in a rhythm as quick as a could.
I felt free as a bird just being out there, being with those guys, being in front of the fans. Getting out of the basement I was in for 10 days.