Sports

DeMar DeRozan Puts Up A Fight, But Bulls Lose To Ja Morant, Grizzlies

February 26, 2022 / 10:36 PM CST / CBS Chicago

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CHICAGO (CBS/AP) — DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls fought hard Ja Morant scored a career-high 46 points and the Memphis Grizzlies hung on to win 116-110 on Saturday night.

A six-game win streak is now over for the Bulls, who cut the Grizzlies' 17-point lead to one at one point. But Memphis came away with the win after losing two in a row.

Morant surpassed his previous high of 44 points. He scored 20 points in the third quarter and made 15 of 28 shots.

Steven Adams added 12 points and a season-high 21 rebounds, and the Grizzlies frustrated DeRozan even though the five-time All-Star scored 31 points.

That gave DeRozan 10 straight 30-point games, the longest such streak by a Bulls player since Michael Jordan did it in 10 straight from Dec. 25, 1990, to Jan. 14, 1991. But he was 10 of 29 from the field, ending his NBA-record run of eight games of scoring at least 35 while shooting 50% or better.

Zach LaVine scored 28 points in his second game back after missing the final three prior to the All-Star break because of his ailing left knee.

Memphis led by 17 in the third, with Morant going off in the quarter. He made 7 of 14 shots, including two 3s and a soaring alley-oop dunk near the end of the period.

It was a 16-point game early in the fourth when the Bulls reeled off a 14-0 run, with DeRozan hitting two free throws to cut it to 101-99 with 4:38 remaining.

The Bulls' Coby White cut it to 106-105 when he nailed a 3 with about 2:30 remaining. Morant then hit two free throws before DeRozan drove for a layup.

Desmond Bane hit a 3 to bump the lead to 111-107. The Bulls' Nikola Vucevic made a foul shot, and Bane and Morant missed jumpers before LaVine hit two free throws to cut it to 111-110 with 25.5 seconds remaining.

Tyus Jones then hit a pair for Memphis to make it a three-point game. DeRozan argued a no-call after he missed in the lane and picked up his second technical after getting one earlier in the game, earning an ejection.

Morant, who got fouled by LaVine in the scramble, then made the technical free throw and two more foul shots to bump the lead to 116-110 with 5.3 seconds remaining.

Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan said a failure to secure rebounds was played a large role in the Bulls' downfall Saturday night.

"We fought our way to get back in the game. I thought we had a lot of opportunities to kind of maybe take the lead," he said. "You couldn't rebound the ball – that was the first thing that went wrong for us coming down the stretch is that we could not secure rebounds when we forced misses. There was no first-shot defense for us at all. I don't know how many offensive rebounds they had down the stretch. It seemed like there was four straight possessions where we got them to miss and we couldn't secure rebounds."

TIP-INS

Grizzlies: The Grizzlies have won four straight against Chicago. ... Coach Taylor Jenkins said Morant was feeling "really good" following treatments, after his hip tightened Thursday night in a loss at Minnesota. "

Bulls: The Bulls hope to have G Alex Caruso (broken right wrist) resume basketball activities during the upcoming week, coach Billy Donovan said. Caruso was injured Jan. 21 when Milwaukee's Grayson Allen took him down, and had surgery.

UP NEXT

Grizzlies: Host San Antonio on Monday night.

Bulls: At Miami on Monday night.