Coby White’s career-high night rallies Bulls past Kings – NBC Sports Chicago

Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Chicago Bulls opened a four-game trip against Western Conference teams with a 113-109 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center Monday night.

“This is big,” DeMar DeRozan said. “We have to carry this momentum over the next game.”

Here are 10 observations:

—The Bulls rallied from a 22-point, third-quarter deficit, finishing the game on a 9-1 run after Domantas Sabonis fouled out.

“This group continues to fight,” coach Billy Donovan said.

The Bulls have now authored three comebacks of at least 21 points this season.

“I just think the character of the guys in this room,” said Coby White when asked about the team’s reslience. “For me, I’ve been here five years. Some of these guys I’ve been playing with. But just getting to know their backgrounds, where they come from, their journeys, their stories, how they are able to fight through adversity just in life. The basketball court is easy. But the stuff a lot of these guys went through in their lifetime and how they fought through it and how every challenge that came their way they seemed to get over it and run through that wall. The character of this room creates the resilience of this basketball team.

—White scored a career-high 37 points, posting his first 30-point game since Feb. 14. He shot 14-for-19 after not attempting a shot in the first quarter. White also had seven assists in a strong all-around game. It’s White’s seventh 30-point game this season, matching his total from his first four seasons combined.

“I was just trying to let the game come to me,” White said. “Ayo (Dosunmu) really had it going in that first quarter. He was really aggressive getting downhill, catch-and-shoot. So I was just trying to play off him, let him do his thing. And then when my opportunities came, I wanted to take advantage of it. I wasn’t trying to force anything.”

White’s previous career high of 36 points also came here in January 2021.

“But I had also zero turnovers (that night) and (Monday), I had three,” White said, opening a window into his winning mindset.

—Similarly, DeMar DeRozan only attempted one shot the entire first half before taking over late to try to fuel a comeback victory. He scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth, finishing 10-for-12 from the field and 11-for-12 from the line.

“It’s just feel,” DeRozan said. “A lot of times it’s just me physically or mentally trying to either collect data of how they’re playing us or trying to get guys going. Or sometimes it’s just getting myself loose and going. Some games I feel it right away and some games I need to ease into it. It’s just me knowing myself. I knew at one point I was going to get it going.”

White made sure to spread credit beyond him and DeRozan.

“It was a team effort,” White said. “Ayo (Dosunmu) played really big. AC (Alex Caruso) had four steals. Julian (Phillips) came in, gave us some big…