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Did someone call for an encore?

Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan sure knows how to end, and begin, a year unlike anyone else. On Saturday, he became the only player in NBA history with a game-winning buzzer-beater on consecutive days.

His impressive two-game stretch started on Dec. 31 with a one-legged 3-pointer that lifted the Bulls over the Indiana Pacers, 108-106.

It was only the second game-winning buzzer-beater of DeRozan’s career and first by a Bulls player since Jimmy Butler in December 2016.

After the game, Pacers All-Star Domantas Sabonis, succinctly summarized DeRozan’s buzzer-beater, which was later dubbed the “New Year’s Heave” by Zach LaVine on social media.

“Sometimes that shot goes in, sometimes it doesn’t,” said the Pacers’ star.

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On the other side, DeRozan also offered insight on how he views late-game moments.

“I always think about the next opportunity and try to capitalize on that the best I can.”

Little did he know that his next opportunity would come less than 24 hours later against the Washington Wizards.

DeRozan, the league leader in total points and points per game in the fourth quarter, sunk a corner 3-pointer over two defenders at the buzzer to extend the Bulls’ win streak to seven games.

He’s now tied the teams single-season record for buzzer-beaters, including the playoffs, sharing the mark with Michael Jordan (1992-93 and 1996-97) and Toni Kukoc (1993-94). However, DeRozan has the distinction of being the only Bulls player with multiple regular-season buzzer-beaters.

After the game his teammates further sang his praises on social media.

Wizards center Montrezl Harrell was unavailable for the game since he is in the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, but still weighed in on his squad’s heartbreaking loss.

LeBron James and Chris Paul were among the NBA stars that offered their takes on DeRozan’s historic two-game stretch.

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ESPN Stats and Information contributed to this story.

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DeMar DeRozan has started off 2022 the way he left 2021, with a buzzer beater. For the second-straight night DeRozan delivered with a game-winning shot to give the Chicago Bulls a win at the buzzer.

On Friday, DeRozan hit a game-winning three pointer to lead the Bulls past the Indiana Pacers and one night later, he did it again. This time against the Washington Wizards. DeRozan’s three-pointer with no time left, gave the Bulls their seventh straight win here as 2022 begins.

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Bail was denied Saturday for a 34-year-old Harvey man charged with killing a teenager last fall at a home in the south suburban Burnham.

Faheem Nordwood shot 17-year-old Isaiah Davis on Oct. 28 and then trying to cover up the killing by setting the teen’s body on fire, Cook County prosecutors said.

Norwood pointed a gun at Davis that day in the basement of the home and asked the teen “would you take one for your boys” before pulling the trigger, but no shot was fired, prosecutors said.

Norwood then allegedly pointed the gun at the teen a second time and pulled the trigger again, causing the gun to go off, prosecutors said.

A defense attorney for Norwood said her client hadn’t intended to shoot the boy and that they were part of a group playing a “Russian roulette”-style game.

Norwood put the gun in the teen’s hand and pulled the trigger again to make it look like the teen shot himself, before he took Davis’ body in a U-Haul to an abandoned apartment in Riverdale, prosecutors said.

Norwood later got several people to rip up carpet in the basement where the shooting took place and install new flooring, prosecutors said.

Norwood moved the teen’s body a second time to an alley in Harvey and set the body on fire, where it was discovered by authorities, prosecutors said.

A GoFundMe created to help pay for Davis’ funeral costs called him a “happy and outgoing young man” who “was always laughing and very respectful.”

Norwood was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, according to court records.

Norwood has previous convictions for aggravated use of a weapon by a felon, vehicular hijackings and attempted murder, according to prosecutors.

He was found not guilty by a jury in 2018 of the murders of three people — including a 10-year-old girl — during a home invasion in Harvey, according to court records.

Norwood was among four people charged with the Oct. 24, 2010, killings of Donysha Stovall, 28, Shaquill Davis, 16, Clarisma Torry, 10, and the attempted murder of the 4-year-old when a robbery crew allegedly seeking drugs broke into the family’s apartment, the Sun-Times previously reported.

He was expected back in court Jan. 4.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Blackhawks’ power play did everything Saturday that should make them successful.

Jonathan Toews won seven of eight faceoffs. Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat connected on a number of cross-seam passes. Seth Jones was trigger-happy with his one-timer. Kirby Dach retrieved loose pucks effectively.

But the end result was another dissatisfying outcome — another 0-for-4 stat line, contrasting sharply with the Predators’ 2-for-3 line in the 6-1 loss — in a largely dissatisfying season for the ‘PP.’

“We were moving it pretty well,” Jones said. “For the power play kind of struggling this year, that’s one of the better games we’ve had overall.”

The Hawks attempted 10 shots during one first-period sequence alone and finished with 24 attempts, 12 shots on goal, 11 scoring chances and three high-danger chances in eight minutes of power play time. But they couldn’t get the puck across the line.

They entered the holiday break on a decent run — having gone 7-for-28 over their last nine games — but still rank 20th in the NHL with an 18.0% conversion rate overall this season. That’s in spite of ranking 14th in scoring chances per minute.

“They were getting frustrated,” interim coach Derek King said Saturday. “I was trying to calm them down, [saying] like, ‘You’re getting good looks.’ A lot of times if you’re not getting looks, that’s when you get a little frustrated. But when you’re getting good looks like that, you’ve just got to stay with it.”

Kurashev rising

Since returning to the Blackhawks’ lineup Dec. 9 after a brief AHL stint, Philipp Kurashev has looked far more like the dynamic, if complementary, offensive weapon he was last season.

Kurashev scored again Saturday, his second goal in four games after going 21 straight without finding the net.

He said Dec. 10 he was trying to be more confident, less tight, when shooting. He has seemingly acted on that mindset change, taking 11 shot attempts and enjoying eight scoring chances over his last three games.

Canadian games in question

Most of the NHL’s most recent game postponements have not been due to COVID outbreaks but rather due to new Canadian fan restrictions or bans. The league, hoping to maximize revenue, will try to reschedule the games when fans will be allowed again.

For the Hawks, that effort has already cost them one game: a scheduled road matchup at the Jets on Wednesday. It could soon cost them another. The Oilers have had numerous home games postponed up through just before the Hawks’ scheduled Jan. 18 visit.

Outside of that, though, the Hawks have just one more Canadian road game this season — March 12 at the Senators.

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Well, folks, here we go again. For the 15th time in the last 16 years, college football’s national champion will come from the Deep South. It’ll be Alabama or Georgia and, either way, that means 12 titles in 16 years for the real driver of the sport, the Southeastern Conference. Non-SEC schools Florida State and Clemson (twice) also have won it all.

The lone exception: Ohio State in the 2014 season, which happened to be the first year of the playoff. In hindsight, the Buckeyes’ semifinal comeback from 21-6 down to knock off No. 1 Alabama looks pretty amazing. Most outsiders get down big and then get buried, as the Buckeyes did in last season’s title game against the Crimson Tide and as Michigan did against Georgia on Friday night.

Since the 2002 Buckeyes won it all with a colossal upset of No. 1 Miami, the Big Ten has just the one championship. Maybe it’s time to admit it: The Big Ten is a basketball league.

Oops — we can’t do that, either. The Big Ten hasn’t won it all in hoops since Michigan State pulled it off in 2000.

Maybe it’s a volleyball league?

Ah, well. No more Big Ten football games until late summer, but the hoops schedule goes full blast (inevitable COVID-19 disruptions notwithstanding) beginning on Sunday at 1 p.m. as Michigan State at Northwestern tips off a trio of games on BTN. From there, everybody is locked into league play until the NCAA Tournament — and you know how that always ends.

Yep, with a team from another conference cutting down the nets.

Here’s what’s happening:

SUN 2

Giants at Bears (noon, Ch. 2)

G-Men coach Joe Judge says both Mike Glennon and Jake Fromm will play, which is another way of saying, “You’re darn right we’d trade the pair of ’em for Justin Fields, Andy Dalton or Nick Foles.”

Cardinals at Cowboys (3:25 p.m., Fox-32)

Arizona is up against it with COVID-19 absences and — no coincidence — slumping. An upset, though, would line these teams up to meet again in the wild-card round.

Flames at Blackhawks (6 p.m., NBCSCH)

The Hawks have righted the ship — for the most part — after a horrible start, but it’s still a long way from where they are to wherever actual relevance might be. Hot, though, the Flames are not; they’ve dropped four of five heading in.

Vikings at Packers (7:20 p.m., Ch. 5, Peacock)

The 7-8 Vikes need this one to have any shot at the playoffs. Unvaccinated QB Kirk Cousins, out with COVID-19, gets to pitch in by watching on TV as his team is eliminated.

MON 3

Magic at Bulls (7 p.m., NBCSCH)

Some of us are old enough to remember a time when the Bulls winning at home against an opponent this godawful was far from a sure thing. (Programming note: If the Bulls lose, we will deny having called this a sure thing.)

Browns at Steelers (7:15 p.m., ESPN)

Playoff implications? Sure, barely. But — like him or not — Ben Roethlisberger taking the field in Pittsburgh for the last time is a moment to be recognized.

TUE 4

CBB: Illinois at Minnesota (6 p.m., FS1)

The Gophers have been better than anyone expected, and a win here would stamp them as legit. The Illini aren’t about to let that happen on their watch, are they?

CBB: Oklahoma at Baylor (6 p.m., ESPN2)

Coach Porter Moser has the Sooners rambling in the right direction in Year 1 on the job. He gets all he signed up for and then some with a visit to the No. 1-ranked Bears.

Texas Bowl: LSU vs. Kansas State (8 p.m., ESPN)

It’s the next-to-last college football game of the season, strongly — but wrongly — suggesting it’s a big one. But, hey, if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, place your wagers.

WED 5

CBB: DePaul at St. John’s (5:30 p.m., FS1)

Once upon a time, a matchup like this was about Chicago vs. New York bragging rights. Now it’s about two Big East also-rans trying to get back on the map. Baby steps, hoops fans, baby steps.

CBB: Loyola at Illinois State (8 p.m., CBSSN)

Moser’s former team is the clear favorite in the Missouri Valley, but don’t sleep on the Redbirds. Ask Wisconsin, which got all it could handle from them last week in an 89-85 nail-biter.

CBB: Penn State at Northwestern (8 p.m., BTN)

Quietly — but truly — the Wildcats have played some terrific basketball. Look, check ’em out for yourselves if you don’t believe it.

THU 6

CBB: Maryland at Illinois (6 p.m., ESPN2)

It’s still strange not to see Mark Turgeon in front of the Terps’ bench. As for their interim coach, Danny Manning, what would he possibly know about winning in college basketball?

Blackhawks at Coyotes (8 p.m., NBCSCH)

These teams used to collaborate on a lot of trades. See how much good it did them? Mercy, the Coyotes are bad.

FRI 7

Wizards at Bulls (7 p.m., NBCSCH)

Rinse, repeat — another game the Bulls should get. Wait a minute, are we starting to get too cocky around here?

SAT 8

CBB: Michigan State at Michigan (1:30 p.m., Fox-32)

The Wolverines have been — hands down — the most disappointing team in the country. And by “disappointing” we mean the rest of the Big Ten is completely loving it.

Blackhawks at Golden Knights (9 p.m., NBCSCH)

No big deal — all Hawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury did for the Knights last season was win the Vezina Trophy. The least they could do is mark his return with a tear-jerking video tribute, just saying.

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Oklahoma City Thunder leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols Saturday.

Meanwhile, rookie guard Josh Giddey, who leads the Thunder in rebounds and assists, is off the team’s COVID-19 list after entering the protocols Tuesday.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a team-leading 22.7 points to go along with 4.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists.

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Oklahoma City has six players out with COVID-19 issues — Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Bazley, Derrick Favors, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl — along with coach Mark Daigneault.

The Thunder (13-22) host the Dallas Mavericks (17-18) on Sunday.

The NBA has changed its protocols at least twice in recent days after data suggested it could safely shorten the return-to-play plans for those who test positive for the virus, provided that the players are asymptomatic and return multiple test results that meet the league’s standards for showing they are no longer contagious.

By late Saturday afternoon, the number of players revealed by teams to be in the protocols was around 100, about a 20% dip from the highest known figure the NBA was dealing with earlier in the week. The numbers fluctuate on almost an hourly basis; some players are closer to a return than others.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With both Marc-Andre Fleury and Kevin Lankinen out with COVID-19, the Blackhawks knew their goaltending situation Saturday would be an issue.

Those concerns turned into a dire reality abruptly in a 6-1 blowout loss to the Predators, starting the Hawks’ 2022 calendar year — after a two-week layoff to end 2021 — on a sour note.

Third-string goalie Collin Delia allowed three goals on seven shots in the first period, and that was all Hawks interim coach Derek King evidently needed to see. Fourth-stringer Arvid Soderblom replaced Delia for the second and third periods, allowing another three goals on 18 shots in his NHL debut.

Predators starter Juuse Saros, meanwhile, looked sharp throughout and finished with 37 saves on 38 shots.

King employed a characteristically diplomatic tone postgame, saying he’ll “never throw a goalie under the bus,” but it was easy to see what let his team down.

“A lot of times it’s what we were doing in front of him,” King said. “Maybe [Delia was] screened on the first one. Second one was our guy — we weren’t very good in the ‘D’-zone there. … And then he probably wishes he had that third one back.

“But I can’t fault those guys. If you looked at the scoresheet before the game, they had zero NHL games [this season]. So coming into this building, that’s tough.”

That third goal, in which Nick Cousins tipped in a Mattias Ekholm shot on the power play shortly after Delia’s one highlight-reel save of the afternoon, thoroughly deflated the Hawks.

They’d temporarily stabilized the ship after conceding twice in the first six minutes and were threatening to claw back into the game, peppering Saros with chances. Total attempts actually favored the Hawks 30-13 at that point.

But conceding to Cousins with 47 seconds left in the frame, then conceding again 28 seconds after the intermission to fall behind 4-0, rendered the rest of the game largely irrelevant. Shot attempts were a relatively even 41-39 from then on.

“That hurts, obviously,” Seth Jones said. “[When] we’re down 2-0, it’s still a game. … It’s just a dagger when you have power plays that don’t score and they score. It’s tough to come back from 3-0 after the first.”

“I didn’t think we played a really bad game,” King said. “We had opportunities. We just couldn’t bury them. And they had opportunities and they scored.”

King felt pulling Delia — who’d looked disengaged since the opening puck drop, even forgetting to bang his stick at the end of one power play — wasn’t something he “had to” do, but might be a “good shake-up for our guys.”

The result was a dramatic end to a whirlwind week for Soderblom, a 22-year-old undrafted Swedish goalie whom the Hawks just signed this past summer. After going 4-5-0 with a .915 percentage with the Rockford IceHogs so far this season, he was only called up to the taxi squad Wednesday and promoted to the active roster Friday.

“Yeah, it has been going quick,” he said. “But I feel like I played pretty good, [made] a couple good saves.”

The Hawks have high hopes long-term for Soderblom, although goaltending development can be impossible to predict. They probably won’t read too much into his .833 save percentage in this strange, abridged debut.

He admitted he has encountered a “different style of play” in the AHL and NHL than he did in Sweden. He has worked to improve his positioning on sharp angles and his vision through traffic, two situations more common on the smaller rinks of North America. But he was unflustered when King called his name during the intermission.

“It’s just a hockey game; [I’m just] trying to do my thing,” Soderblom said. “I just try to do the things I’ve always been doing, focus on stopping the puck and take it calm and easy.”

“He’s pretty calm, pretty cool back there,” King added. “It’s like he’s been in the league for a long time. There’s no nerves or anything. He just plays his game. He got comfortable after the first goal on him — [there] was nothing he could do on a broken play. After that, he settled in. He looked good.”

The Hawks’ starter for Sunday’s game against the Flames, coming off a quick turnaround with travel, remains unclear.

King said Fleury “has a chance” to be available, based on pending test results. Otherwise, he’ll need to make another tricky decision between Delia and Soderblom. Either way, the goalie situation will remain a concern.

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Atlanta Hawks coach Nate McMillan entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Saturday.

McMillan’s top assistant, Chris Jent, entered the protocols earlier in the week. With McMillan and Jent both unavailable, assistant coach Joe Prunty is expected to serve as the Hawks’ acting head coach against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The plan will be for Prunty to take over until one of his two colleagues is cleared, sources said.

Prunty was 21-17 as the Milwaukee Bucks‘ interim coach in 2017-18 following the firing of Jason Kidd.

Including McMillan, 11 of the NBA’s 30 coaches have spent time on the league’s COVID-19 list this season.

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Superstar point guard Luka Doncic is among three Dallas Mavericks who have cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols and are expected to rejoin the team before Sunday’s game in Oklahoma City.

Shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and power forward Maxi Kleber have also cleared the protocols after missing several games because of COVID-19.

None of the three players were listed on the team’s injury report released on Saturday.

Doncic has not played since aggravating his previously sprained left ankle in a Dec. 10 loss to the Indiana Pacers. He sat out the next five games because of ankle soreness and was expected to return Dec. 23 against the Milwaukee Bucks but tested positive for COVID-19, causing Doncic to miss five more games.

Hardaway and Kleber, two of the Mavs’ top reserves, have each missed the Mavs’ past six games. The Mavs managed to go 5-5 during Doncic’s extended absence despite a COVID-19 outbreak that resulted in a total of 10 Dallas players entering the league’s protocols, including two players on 10-day hardship deals. Jalen Brunson, filling in for Doncic as the starting point guard, averaged 21.0 points and 7.4 assists per game during the stretch.

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