Drummond, DeRozan lead the way as Bulls hold off Hawks
CHICAGO — DeMar DeRozan felt like a kid in his bedroom again pouring water on his head to simulate sweat and taking imaginary jumpers, dreaming of moments of like this with the crowd roaring as each shot fell through the net.
DeRozan scored 25 points, Drummond had season highs of 24 points and 25 rebounds in his first start of the season, and Chicago cooled off the Hawks’ Trae Young somewhat in a 118-113 victory Tuesday night.
Young finished with 21 points and 13 assists after tying Oscar Robertson’s record of seven consecutive games with at least 30 points and 10 assists.
Pacers at Bulls
The Bulls won for the ninth time in 13 games with Zach LaVine sidelined because of inflammation in his right foot. And they did it this time with center Nikola Vucevic out because of bruised muscles around his left hip and groin.
DeRozan scored all but four of his points in the second half. He had 11 in the fourth quarter, including eight in the final 2:50 to help Chicago come away with the win.
“The kid in me loves those moments,” he said. “Loved the energy from the crowd. It’s fun.
It’s an honor, a privilege, to be able to be trusted in those moments so you try to take it all in.”
Drummond made 11 of 13 shots and played 39 minutes with Vucevic sidelined.
“I still believe I’m a starter in this league,” he said. “But the position I’m in now, I take it and play to the best of my ability.”
Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 19. White missed all seven 3-pointers and the Bulls were 7 of 25 from beyond the arc. But they made enough shots to bounce back from a loss to injury-riddled Cleveland on Saturday.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led Atlanta with 22 points. Dejounte Murray finished with 17 after scoring 20