Bulls Summer League highlights: Marko Simonovic plays hero in OT win over Mavs

The Summer Bulls tipped off play in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon, and they treated us to a wild game that featured plenty of Marko Simonovic heroics in a 100-99 overtime victory. Simonovic hit the game-winning free throw in the final second of overtime, which came after he scored the final four points of regulation to complete a big Bulls comeback from down 16 points in front of a whole host of teammates.

We even got a double flex to show off his new biceps after his game-tying dunk:

I honestly have no idea what Marko Hours actually are, but the second-year big man had himself a game with 27 points (10-of-19 shooting), 13 rebounds (six offensive) and three blocks in under 30 minutes of action. It was a bit of a roller-coaster game for Simonovic, who started strong, then looked awful in his second stint, then finished the game on a high note:

This was also hilarious:

Simonovic has been getting a bit of hype after adding 25 pounds and some confidence (you can already hear Stacey King saying it), and he backed it up with a strong Summer League game on Friday. He made a lot of things happen by being huge, being in the right spots, playing stronger and having good hands (side-eyes Tony Bradley).

All Summer League caveats apply of course, and there are still parts of his game that make you doubt whether he’ll be able to hack it in the big leagues (bad 3-point shooting, slow/lost at times on defense). But it sure would be nice if he could actually play given that guaranteed contract he got last year.

Then there’s rookie Dalen Terry, who is truly a whirlwind out on the court with his energy. He’s clearly going to be a good vibes guy and will make things happen by just being all over the place.

Terry got a lot of reps as the lead ball handler in this game, and he made it a point to try as many ambitious passes as possible. It’s Summer League, after all, and that’s the time to do it. This resulted in him not only racking up six assists but also six turnovers. He truly did have some nasty dimes:

There was also a Lonzo Ball-esque TD pass:

Terry showed some explosiveness in transition as well, but the half-court scoring is clearly going to be a work in progress for him. He only went 3-of-7 from the field for nine points, taking only a single 3-pointer in the process. The Bulls won despite being just 4-of-14 from 3-point range.

This was kind of expected with Terry, though, and you can see what the Bulls like about him given all the things he can do. It’s just a matter of him developing those other aspects of his game.

Illini Guy Malcolm Hill and DePaul Guy Javon Freeman-Liberty were the other Bulls in double figures with 18 points and 11 points, respectively. Justin Lewis showed a few nice things with eight points and five rebounds, making his presence felt immediately:

The Bulls’ next Summer League game is on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT against the Knicks.