Bulls’ Torrey Craig On Why He Tried Self Alley-Oop vs. Knicks Down 9: ‘Wanted To Create Some Excitement’

During the New York Knicks–Chicago Bulls NBA game on Tuesday (4/9), Torrey Craig tried a self alley-oop despite the Bulls being down by nine.

Craig threw the ball off the backboard and Andre Drummond thought the pass was for him.

Oh man, we have the Shaqtin moment of the season

Torrey Craig just tried to throw it to himself for a dunk off the backboard on a break. Drummond thought it was for him…did not end well pic.twitter.com/QjkphNLa3c

— Will Gottlieb (@Will_Gottlieb) April 10, 2024

After the Bulls lost to the Knicks, Craig spoke to NBA reporters about the major blunder. 

“I just wanted to create some excitement and try to give us the edge,” Craig said, via The Athletic. “Try to create some momentum for us. Obviously, I didn’t know Drum was going to jump after it with me. So it was a miscommunication, or a misinterpretation or whatever.

“But at the end of the day, I’ve just got to dunk the ball or lay it up. So, I’ll take the blame for that.”

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan was disappointed in Craig, who finished with only four points in 14 minutes. 

“To me, it was just really disappointing,” Donovan said. “You’re down by (9). There were a lot of self-induced things that I thought we contributed to. Not only that play but other plays that weren’t as loud as that. But that play was disappointing to me.”

To make matters worse, Drummond hurt his left ankle after Craig’s blunder and left the game in a wheelchair. It was an overall terrible night for the Bulls, who will face the Atlanta Hawks in the 9-10 play-in tournament game. 

“We’ve been dealing with it all season,” Craig said of unforced errors. “And I take accountability with that, as well. Sometimes we let our emotions get the best of us. But it’s an emotional game, especially when you want to win, especially when you’re competitive. … We’ve just got to do a better job as a team of not letting it cost us in games.”

The Bulls are 37-42 on the season. They are 23rd in the NBA in points per game.