Some concrete information was received on Saturday at the United Center.
If DeMar DeRozan MVP gets into the top tier of the race, Memphis point guard Ja Morant could be up a notch.
The two may have been among the top four or five candidates, but Morant was the superstar who led his team to big wins in this game. The former Murray State star scored 46 points and made a late Bulls comeback to take Memphis to a 116-110 win at United Center.
After missing his first 7 shots, DeRozan's streak of 35-50 never gave much chance. But he finished with 31 points on 10 out of 28 shots. Morant was dismissed for 28 runs for 15 runs from the ground.
"We didn't play well in the first and third quarters," said Zach LaVine. "Our attention to detail and energy was really good in the fourth when we were trying to get back into the game."
It appeared to be a major victory for the Grizzlies, who led 17 with just under 10 minutes. But then the Bulls went 14-0 up, close to 1 point and had many chances to tie or take the lead.
The last gasp saw DeRozan try to split the two defenders in the lane, end up on the floor and then go out with 5.3 seconds to receive his second technical foul. That particular play appeared as a solid defense by Memphis's Kyle Anderson, but the Bulls had been complaining about a lack of calls from the opening minute.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan said of DeRozan, "He is human and he will have nights where he will not shoot the ball." "I thought at the start of the game, he fouled enough and he should have been on the free-throw line. I haven't seen the movie, it's just watching the game with my eyes.
"Who knows what the game is like for him if he gets 4 quick free throws or some of those plays are called differently. It's going to happen. The officials aren't perfect, the players aren't perfect and neither are the coaches" Huh."
DeRozan missed a jumper that could have saved the score by just over four minutes, but came back with a 3-pointer. Coby White's corner 3-pointer closed the gap to 106-105 with 2:30 remaining. Then trailing 1 twice, the Bulls forced a missed shot and could not control the defensive rebound. Memphis scored both times and managed to finish it.
The Bulls' hands were full of muscular Grizzlies center Steven Adams, who finished with 21 rebounds and 12 points, and with some physical screens created several scoring opportunities for Morant.
"Steven Adams demands a lot of attention on that side of the ball. I think we were all crashing on him and the ball going over our heads," White said of the Bulls' late-game return failures. Said about.
Memphis ended up scoring on both occasions of the second run. On second, Desmond Bain shot down his only 3-pointer of the game after starting 0 for 6. That shot put the Grizzlies 111-107 with a 1:20 lead.
Nikola Vusevic goes to the line and hits 1 of 2 free throws. Then after the Bulls finally got a stop and rebound, LaVine (28 points) went over the line, but his free throw kept it a 1-point game with 25.5 seconds left. A pair of free throws by Memphis' Tyes Jones gave the Bulls one last chance at 3 behind.
The Grizzlies (42-20) hold the NBA's third-best record, but suffered two consecutive defeats, including Thursday in Minnesota. The Bulls (39-22) ended a six-game winning streak.
White (15 points) played 35 minutes, while rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu had a rare night and went scoreless.
"I felt like they were really coming after Demar and Zach when they had the ball and I thought the spray outs might be open," Donovan said. "I went with Kobi because of the piece shooting it. I don't think it was one of Ayo's best games personally, but he's been great to us."