DeMar DeRozan looked poised to get another run at trying to be the league’s Most Valuable Player. The Chicago Bulls star was blazing in the season prior and carried some of that momentum into the new season at the time. Nothing better would have proved his status as one of the league’s stars than putting up a legendary performance at Madison Square Garden. It came at the expense of RJ Barrett and the New York Knicks. Moreover, he loved reliving that very moment, via the NBA.
“I just knew I was gonna make it, being in the Mecca of basketball arenas… It’s probably one of my favorite game-winners,” the Bulls star declared a year after his legendary shot inside Madison Square Garden.
It was once thought that this game was RJ Barrett’s breaking-out party for the Knicks. He had scored 44 points on a 70% clip from all three levels of scoring. This scorching hot performance could have very well been remembered as that, if not for DeMar DeRozan.
The Bulls star was not on primary scoring duties for this game as well. Zach LaVine was the one leading the Bulls into victory with his 33 points. Meanwhile, DeRozan dropped 10 dimes in this game to help their offensive firepower. If there was someone who would win it all, LaVine would not have been a bad choice. Instead, DeRozan got the ball and the rest was history for the Bulls.
This game would end in a 118 to 117 scoreline because of that late-game Bulls bucket. It all brought the team their 14th win of the season.