Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan ejected from Rockets loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
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The NBA minutes leader got a break—but not the kind he sought.
DeMar DeRozan drew an ejection Thursday night after committing a flagrant-2 foul on Jalen Green during the third quarter of the Chicago Bulls-Houston Rockets game.
In the ensuing fracas, DeRozan elbowed Dillon Brooks after Brooks took exception to DeRozan’s foul. After video review, officials assessed Brooks a technical foul and ejected him as well.
The Rockets prevailed 127-117, spoiling the Bulls‘ bid to get to .500 and Coby White‘s return from a three-game absence. Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 35 points.
“We have to control ourselves and adjust to the officials,” coach Billy Donovan told reporters in Houston after the game. “The crew that was on the game is a good crew. They’re good guys. They work extremely hard.”
The incident occurred with 6 minutes, 2 seconds left in the third quarter and the Rockets leading by nine points.
DeRozan laughed derisively and talked to officials as he exited the court. He finished with 16 points on 4-for-15 shooting in 24 minutes, and he had just been blocked by Green 10 seconds earlier on a play where he thought he drew contact.
“There were probably some missed calls when DeMar went to the basket a couple times,” Donovan told reporters in Houston. “That being said, they probably felt the same way on some of their drives.”
Donovan told reporters in Houston he didn’t think DeRozan’s actions warranted a flagrant-2 foul.
In a pool report with crew chief Curtis Blair conducted by longtime Houston Chronicle reporter Jonathan Feigen, Blair said DeRozan’s contact with Green “was excessive and unnecessary.” The ensuing scrum impacted only Brooks, not DeRozan, because DeRozan already had been ejected.
The Bulls struggled with transition defense against the athletic Rockets, who won their seventh straight. Houston piled up 23 fast-break points, placed six in double figures and enjoyed a 49-28 bench scoring advantage.
White, who returned from his hip injury, came off the bench under a minutes limit and finished with 13 points in 29 minutes.
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