NBA highlights on Jan. 1: DeRozan beats the buzzer back-to-back

CGTN

text

DeMar DeRozan (#11) of the Chicago Bulls shoots to beat the buzzer in the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 1, 2022. /CFP

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Washington Wizards 120-119 at Capital One Arena on Saturday, extending their winning-streak to seven games.

DeMar DeRozan, who wrapped up 2021 with a buzzer-beater for Bulls on Friday, beat the buzzer again to begin 2022. Both shots were made at the 3-point line.

The Chicago Bulls shot only 29.7 triples per game, the fewest in the NBA this season, and made 11.3 of them (25th). DeRozan drained less than one shot from downtown on average.

But he did it twice in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday. No Bulls were able to beat the buzzer in regular time in the regular season since Michael Jordan in 1997, until DeRozan this season.

DeMar DeRozan (#11) of the Chicago Bulls shoots to beat the buzzer in the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 1, 2022. /CFP

The Bulls were trailing 119-117 with 3.3 seconds left. Coby White was throwing the inbound while Zach LaVine, DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Ayo Dosunmu were on the floor for the Bulls. LaVine, White and Vucevic were 7-12, 3-7 and 4-8 respectively behind the arc in this game. Neither DeRozan nor Dosunmu took any attempt.

DeRozan set a screen for LaVine and then did a cross screen with Dosunmu. After that, DeRozan went to the left corner followed by Corey Kispert and Dosunmu went to the open right corner. Meanwhile, Vucevic then set a screen for LaVine, pinning down Kyle Kuzma but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was at the top of the key waiting for LaVine.

The Bulls wanted to create shooting opportunity for LaVine. The Wizards knew it and wouldn't let that happen. White had no choice but passed the ball to DeRozan, who did not have enough time to dribble to find rhythm in only 3.3 seconds, not to mention that Kispert is taller than him and stood close enough to keep him from shooting a pull up.

DeRozan distanced from Kispert with a spin, tricked Kispert to jump with a fake move, and then shot from the left corner against the defense of Beal. The ball dropped into the net, bringing the Bulls to victory.

Kyle Kuzma (#33) of the Washington Wizards shoots in the game against the Chicago Bulls at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 1, 2022. /CFP

"Just to hit a buzzer-beater in general is amazing, especially when you do it on the road," DeRozan said after the game. "I don't know. I don't know if I'm dreaming. If it's real right now."

Since the Brooklyn Nets lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 120-116 on Saturday, the Bulls now stay in the leading position of the Eastern Conference with a one-game advantage.

The Wizards did well enough at home on Saturday. Having rested longer than the Bulls, the Wizards tried to speed up the pace in every possession and led 9-0 in fast break points. Before DeRozan hit that game-winning shot, Kuzma drained a 3-pointer to make it 119-117 for the Wizards. He, Caldwell-Pope and Spencer Dinwiddie are the league top 3 clutch triple shooters for the last three minutes of the game. Kuzma scored 29 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's game. The Wizards won six of the previous seven games in which he had 20+points.

Perhaps it just wasn't their night on Saturday.

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors reacts after making a 3-pointer in the game against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., January 1, 2022. /CFP

Curry makes new 3-point shooting record as Warriors beat Jazz

The Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz 123-116 at Vivint Arena on Saturday, putting an end to the opponents' six-game winning-streak.

Stephen Curry was 6-12 from downtown to drop 28 points, six rebounds and nine assists for the Warriors. He set a new record of making at least one triple in 158 straight games. 12 of Curry's points were scored in the fourth quarter, in which the Warriors launched a 37-25 run to rally back and won the game on the road.

Andre Iguodala (C) of the Golden State Warriors dunks in the game against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., January 1, 2022. /CFP

Both sides have been well-known for great ball-movement but the Warriors did much better than the Jazz in this area on Saturday night as they delivered a total of 39 assists. There have been only 30 games in which a team could have more than 39 assists in NBA history, according to StatMuse, which began to record complete team, game-level data for assists going back to the 1982-83 season. 10 of these games involved the Warriors. Curry, Otto Porter Jr and Andre Iguodala delivered nine, eight and eight assists respectively in this game.

When Curry was shooting free throws in the last minutes of the fourth quarter, Jazz fans at Vivint Arena began to sing not just "MVP," but "Warriors." That probably said how much disappointed they were at the home team. As the league's top 3-point shooting franchise, the Jazz went 14-44 at the 3-point line on Saturday night. Their 3-point rates in Q1, Q2 and Q4 were 18.18, 20 and 30.77 percent respectively.

Other games on Saturday (away teams come first):

New Orleans Pelicans 113-136 Milwaukee Bucks

San Antonio Spurs 116-117 Detroit Pistons

Los Angeles Clippers 120-116 Brooklyn Nets

Denver Nuggets 124-111 Houston Rockets