DeMar DeRozan comes up clutch again, powers Chicago Bulls' victory over Atlanta Hawks

CHICAGO — Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points on Thursday night, including 12 points in the fourth quarter and five points in the final minute to lead the Bulls to a 112-108 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

The Bulls trailed by three within the final minute before DeRozan took over the game. He knocked down a mid-range jumper to cut the lead to one, and then after a key defensive stop by rookie Ayo Dosunmu on Hawks All-Star Trae Young, DeRozan knocked down another jumper followed by an and-one to give the Bulls the lead with 15.1 seconds remaining.

«Too much DeRozan,» Hawks coach Nate McMillan said, succinctly summing up the game's final possessions.

It's an assessment that other teams attempting to slow down DeRozan recently can relate too.

DeRozan became the seventh player in NBA history to score 35 points in eight straight games and the first since James Harden in 2019, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. He's done so while shooting better than 50% from the field in each game, extending his already NBA record mark.

«Smooth criminal,» Bulls center Tristan Thompson, who scored 11 points with six rebounds in his team debut, said about DeRozan. «That basket is looking the size of Lake Michigan right now for him.»

«It's history. We're witnessing history,» Dosunmu said. «What we are witnessing right now is something people are going to remember for a long time.»

DeRozan's performance helped the Bulls extend their winning streak to six consecutive games and move a half-game ahead of the Miami Heat for the No.1 seed in a tightly compacted Eastern Conference.

Chicago has one of the toughest remaining schedules in the league — their next five games are against the Grizzlies, Heat, Hawks, Bucks and