DeMar DeRozan aims to post his sixth consecutive 30-point outing when the Chicago Bulls host the struggling Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
The five-time All-Star is averaging 37 points during the hot streak after scoring 35 in Friday’s 134-122 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“DeMar has been doing it consistently all year long,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
DeRozan, who is being mentioned in MVP chatter, is only the second player in Bulls’ history to score 35 or more points in four straight games. The other player is the legendary Michael Jordan, who did it in five consecutive contests early in the 1996-97 season.
DeRozan received a lot of help on Friday as Chicago moved within one game of the first-place Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference.
Nikola Vucevic recorded 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Javonte Green matched his career best of 23 points. Coby White added firepower off the bench by scoring 22 points and equaling his season best of six 3-pointers.
White’s big outing occurred after Donovan had a discussion with the third-year pro about his role earlier this week.
“He wants some consistency from me off the bench,” White said after his eighth 20-point effort of the campaign. “Just coming off the bench and staying in that role instead of being switched around.
“I found a little rhythm out there. I’m just trying to help my team win at the end of the day. My shot was feeling good.”
Not feeling so well was Zach LaVine, who is headed to his second straight All-Star Game. He had just 12 points after averaging 29.5 over the previous two games.
LaVine is attempting to play through back and knee soreness, and Donovan said he could be held out Saturday on the second end of the back-to-back.
“I don’t want to make predictions,” Donovan said. “We need to see where he’s at in the morning and see how he’s feeling, and probably make a decision at that point.”
The Bulls defeated the Thunder 111-110 on Jan. 24 in Oklahoma City behind Vucevic’s 26 points and 15 rebounds. Chicago led by as many as 28 points in the third quarter before the Thunder battled back to make it a close contest.
DeRozan didn’t play that night as he was held out to rest.
Oklahoma City lost 100-87 to the host Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night for its fourth straight loss. Each defeat has been by double digits.
The skid comes after the Thunder put together three straight wins, their best stretch since also winning three in a row from Dec. 18-22.
Derrick Favors scored 16 points, and Luguentz Dort added 15 for the Thunder. Dort has scored at least 15 points in eight straight games and is averaging 21.3 points during the stretch.
Injured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) and Dort are the prime building blocks for a team that stood pat at Thursday’s trade deadline.
“We love our guys. We really like our team,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said Friday. “We like the direction we’re headed. We’re obviously early in the process. We have a lot of confidence in not only the guys we have right now, but where we’re going.”
The Thunder have the second-worst record in the Western Conference and are on pace for their second straight 50-loss season.
The Bulls have won the past two meetings after Oklahoma City prevailed in the previous four matchups.
–Field Level Media