DeRozan beats the buzzer for Bulls, Celtics down Suns and LeBron puts up 43 in Lakers rout

The
Bulls
ended
2021
on
a
high
with
a
sixth
straight
victory
that
came
about
when
DeRozan
picked
up
the
ball
with
around
nine
seconds
remaining,
looked
around
for
options
on
the
court
before
taking
on
the
shot
himself
when
he
noticed
the
clock
winding
down.

It
was
the
second
time
in
DeRozan’s
career
he
had
hit
a
buzzer-beater,
while
no
Bulls
player
had
achieved
the
feat
since
Jimmy
Butler
in
2016.

DeRozan
drained
28
points
in
total
to
go
with
six
assists
and
three
rebounds,
while
Coby
White
had
24
points.
DeRozan
is
the
league
leader
for
both
total
points
and
points
per
game
in
the
fourth
quarter.

Victory
sees
the
Bulls
head
into
the
new
year
top
of
the
East,
with
an
identical
record
(23-10)
to
the
Brooklyn
Nets.

Celtics
stop
the
skid
to
down
Suns

The
Phoenix
Suns
entered
their
showdown
with
the
Boston
Celtics
with
the
best
record
in
the
NBA
but
lost
for
the
third
time
in
four
games
with
a
123-108
defeat.

Jaylen
Brown
and
Marcus
Smart
each
scored
24
points
with
the
former
registering
11
rebounds
and
the
latter
eight
assists
as
the
Celtics
stopped
a
three-game
losing
streak.
Robin
Williams
had
a
triple-double
of
10
points,
11
assists
and
11
rebounds.

Deandre
Ayton
and
Jae
Crowder
missed
a
third
straight
game
for
the
Suns
due
to
being
placed
on
the
health
and
safety
protocols.
Devin
Booker
put
up
22
points,
Cam
Johnson
had
20,
Jalen
Smith
registered
19,
and
Chris
Paul
had
14
points
and
eight
assists,
but
it
was
all
in
vain
for
the
Suns.

LeBron
James
had
a
season-high
43
points
and
extended
his
streak
of
30-point
games
to
seven
as
the
Los
Angeles
Lakers
routed
the
Portland
Trail
Blazers
139-106
to
improve
to
18-19
on
the
season.

Bulls
on
a
hot-streak

Chicago’s
six-game
winning
streak
has
propelled
the
Bulls
to
the
top
of
the
East
and
represents
their
best
winning
run
since
December
2017.