Feats are falling like an endless rain into the record books (inspired from The Beatles’ Across the Universe—a result of the Fab Four’s massive six-hour “Get Back” documentary that I had just finished watching. I feel fine.).
Leading the record-breakers in the NBA (National Basketball Association) is DeMar DeRozan.
On Sunday, January 2, 2022 (PH time), DeRozan became the first NBA player to bury game-winning buzzer beaters on two consecutive nights, giving Chicago a 120-119 victory over Washington.
“DeMar’s shot again was unbelievable,” Bulls’ acting coach Chris Fleming said. “He had the presence of mind to look down and find out where his feet were to make that shot. Incredible shot.”
It came after DeRozan, the NBA’s top fourth-quarter scorer now enjoying a career-high 37.3 percent from three-point country, similarly sank a triple on Saturday to lift Chicago over Indiana.
“I don’t know if I’m dreaming or if it’s real right now,” said DeRozan, who fired 28 points. “Willing to step up whenever that moment is called for and to be ready for it, that’s all I can do.”
“Dude is incredible,” Zach LaVine, DeRoza’s teammate, said after scoring a game-high 35 points in Chicago’s seventh straight victory. “I can’t say much more than that.”
DeRozan’s heroics overshadowed another milestone for Stephen Curry, the NBA’s three-point king.
In banging home 6-of-12 threes, Curry broke his own record by burying a triple for the 158th consecutive game, powering the Golden State Warriors to a 123-116 win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
Curry scored 12 fourth-quarter points, spearheading a rally that saw the Warriors erase an 8-point deficit after seeing their 16-point second half bubble burst.
And in the NBA’s final game for 2021, LeBron James made history in hoisting Los Angeles to a 139-106 rout of Portland.
In unloading 43 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, James, who turned 37 the day before, became the oldest player in league history to score at least 40 points and nab at least 14 rebounds.
“I don’t feel like I have been in the league 19 years,” said James, who recorded his 67th 40-plus points game and sixth in four seasons with the Lakers. “Sometimes, you do have to remind people you can still do what you can do at a high level.”
It is dudes like DeRozan, Curry and James that keep me glued to the NBA.
Happy New Year!