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Dwyane Wade awarded game-winning free throws after a missed dunk, DeMarcus Cousins stews

kelly dwyer
Dwyane Wade averages 18.5 points per game with the Chicago Bulls. (Getty Images)
Dwyane Wade averages 18.5 points per game with the Chicago Bulls. (Getty Images)

With just seconds left in what could have been a defining game as a Chicago Bull, Dwyane Wade was gifted with a loose ball and wide open court in Chicago’s contest with the Kings on Saturday evening. With the score tied, Wade streaked down the court and, well:

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He missed a dunk, by quite a bit even, and without the ball bouncing 30 feet away and out of bounds. This miss allowed the Kings to recover quickly in their attempts at scoring a game-winning bucket of its own.

However, for whatever reason, the referees calling the game gave Wade a delayed whistle following Sacramento’s in-bounded pass, stopping a Kings possession prior to heading to the replay booth while the Kings understandably stewed. DeMarcus Cousins, on the same court at the same time as Dwyane Wade’s missed dunk, was called for a foul upon review.

Awarded with two free throws, Wade missed the first and was well on his way toward creating the sort of atmosphere that NBA websites are named after prior to nailing the second.

This gave the Bulls a 100-99 lead, but Sacramento control of the ball and access to its 28-points per game scorer in Cousins. Wade, however, made up for his previous missteps in swiping from Boogie yet again before hitting Michael Carter-Williams for the game-clinching bucket and the 102-99 Bulls win:


Because he’s … crafty?

Not unlike D-Wade’s vacation pal Carmelo Anthony, who had his own struggles earlier in the week with basic attempts in the paint …


… Wade had his own woes in Chicago’s eventual win:

It was Wade’s night, though, we submit.

The 35-year old had his best game as a member of his hometown team, finishing with 30 points, six rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals. Jimmy Butler added 23 on just 13 shots for Chicago, who moved a full game up on Detroit and now Milwaukee for the final spot in the East’s glorious race for the final playoff spot.

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The Kings, meanwhile:

Sacramento has now lost five in a row, and the club is now 2 1/2 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot in the West. The team is rather flummoxed in the midst of a fruitless year, with the hoped-for salve in the form of DeMarcus Cousins contract extension rumors sticking as just that, until July – they’re just rumors.

Meanwhile, Boogie acted as you’d expect in the United Center hallways following the loss:

After much delay, well aware of the obvious fine that would be levied if he spoke truth to power about the blown call that ruined Sacramento’s night, Boogie took the high road:

DeMarcus Cousins scored 42 points in the loss, adding 14 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and just two turnovers in 35 minutes a play. And yet, against a Chicago team that saw Paul Zipser lead the bench in minutes, it wasn’t enough.

All of this comes on the heels of what Wade characterized as a low point in the Chicago Bulls’ season, a competitive yet ultimately disappointing loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Georgia on Friday. Wade, who missed all but two of his 10 shot attempts on the night in the 103-92 loss, hopped on Twitter to offer hat in hand:

That’s cold comfort to Bulls fans, who could watch Wade bolt this offseason as a free agent after a postseason-less trip home to Chicago, taking a well-paid holiday from Miami while the Heat rebuild elsewhere.

Jimmy Butler, the Bulls franchise star with some permanence, dug in even deeper:

“We got to come out better, man,” Butler said. “We got to start playing better from the jump. 48 minutes, man. It’s terrible basketball. That’s not the way we’re supposed to play. It’s so disappointing because the way we practice isn’t the way that we play in the game. Don’t ask me why, I don’t know. Starting from me going all the way down the line, we’ve got to be better as a whole, as a team. Otherwise, we’re just going to keep getting our asses beat. It’s bad.”

Of course, why would Chicago look to turn it all around against Sacramento?

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The better Sacramento plays, the better chance the Bulls have at grabbing the team’s first round pick this June. If the Kings fall out of the top ten in this year’s draft lottery (they entered Saturday night with the 11th-best odds in the lottery), Chicago gets its pick due to a series of trades that once either coveted J.J. Hickson, or sought to put Luol Deng in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform.

With the Kings loss, though, the Kings now closer to Orlando’s hold on the 10th spot. Good for … nobody?

Save for DeMarcus Cousins’ wallet. With the smart-aleck approach, he saved himself a whole lot of money on Saturday night.

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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!