Bulls forward Torrey Craig must have thought he was playing in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest and not in a regular-season game against the Knicks with playoff implications.
Trailing 36-27 to the Knicks early in the second quarter on Tuesday night in Chicago, Craig got the ball in the open court on a 3-on-0 breakaway, and instead of just dunking it regularly or even laying it in, he decided to throw the ball off the glass to himself for a self-alley oop.
Except teammate Andre Drummond also went for the ball. They both collided and missed.
Drummond later left in a wheelchair after rolling his left ankle.
Torrey Craig’s alley-oop did not go according to plan.
Craig missed the dunk and fell down.
It turned out to be an embarrassing moment for the Bulls and coach Billy Donovan, who wasn’t thrilled by the botched showboating attempt.
“It’s not what I’m about and not what our team should be about,” said Donovan, who might want to consider the Kentucky job that he reportedly would be a “home run hire” for after saying before the game he was committed to the Bulls.
That ugly flub wasn’t the difference in Tuesday’s game as the Knicks won 128-117, but it’s almost certainly a moment Craig likely will want to forget about.
