DeMar DeRozan doubled the fireworks over the New Year’s weekend, lifting the Chicago Bulls to the top of the Eastern Conference standings with a pair of buzzer-beating game-winners.

On Friday, the 32-year-old forward closed out 2021 by walking into a casual one-legged pull-up 3-pointer over Torrey Craig for a 108-106 road victory over the Indiana Pacers. In Washington against the Wizards on Saturday, DeRozan collected an inbounds pass and deftly used an escape dribble to clear two defenders for a double-pump corner 3-pointer that sealed a 120-119 win.

“I don’t know if I’m dreaming (or) if it’s real right now,” DeRozan said after the win over Washington, which moved the Bulls (24-10) past the Brooklyn Nets (23-11) into the East’s top seed.

The four-time all-star’s seamless integration in Chicago and his stellar run since being sidelined by the NBA’s coronavirus protocols in December have given the Bulls their most promising playoff outlook in a decade and delivered a badly needed dose of hope to a league still grappling with the omicron wave.

Don’t be fooled by DeRozan’s game-winners, which trended on social media and generated some MVP chatter. Those two daggers were the only 3-pointers he made while scoring a combined 56 points in 70 total minutes against the Pacers and Wizards.

Indeed, DeRozan has positioned himself as a surefire all-star selection and a fringe MVP candidate by sticking to his bread-and-butter scoring combination, leading the league in two-pointers and making the second-most free throws. He’s the same midrange master cutting against the grain of the NBA’s 3-point revolution.

The 13-year veteran is enjoying a flame-throwing run, shooting a career-best 54% on midrange attempts and 44% on long twos while averaging 26.8 points per game, good for sixth in the NBA. In the final five minutes of games that are within five points, DeRozan is shooting 56% from the field, trailing only Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in clutch scoring.

Unlike other stars who have struggled to adjust to the NBA’s “non-basketball move” rule changes, DeRozan has plugged along just fine with his well-honed and gimmick-free game.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan has set up DeRozan for success by deploying him as an undersized power forward in small ball lineups. Loading up with perimeter players has given Chicago a relentless, athletic identity and eased the spacing concerns created by DeRozan’s lack of outside shooting. Chicago’s offensive efficiency has improved from 21st last year to fourth this season, as DeRozan and Zach LaVine have defied preseason fears that they would clash or be redundant.

LaVine, who is potentially in line for a max contract this summer, has bought into a vision that could see him make the playoffs for the first time in his eight-year career.

Meanwhile, Nikola Vucevic, acquired from the Orlando Magic at last year’s trade deadline, has sacrificed significantly when it comes to shots and usage in Chicago’s new and much more potent alignment. The 31-year-old center has appeared in just two playoff wins during his 11-year career, making this his best chance yet to play meaningful basketball after a decade in anonymity.

“Thank God we have DeMar DeRozan on our team,” LaVine said Saturday. “(This season) is the best feeling I’ve had. … The chemistry came really, really fast. Really easy. We don’t have any egos.”

While the Bulls have been rolling since October, when they opened the season with four straight victories, their post-Christmas work is noteworthy because they were one of the first teams beset by a serious outbreak during the omicron wave.

DeRozan and LaVine were among the players placed in the health protocols in December, and the NBA was forced to postpone three of Chicago’s games because they didn’t have enough healthy and available bodies.

Since DeRozan cleared protocols for his Dec. 19 return, Chicago is 7-0 with three double-digit victories. In other words, the Bulls’ outbreak now looks more like a bump in the road rather than a season-altering catastrophe.

That’s an encouraging indicator for other teams dealing with outbreaks during a dizzying stretch of positive tests and replacement call-ups, adding credence to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s recent statement that vaccinated players who test positive for the omicron variant have suffered relatively minor symptoms and have cleared the virus from their bodies more quickly.

With the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association recently agreeing to shorten the standard isolation period from 10 days to as little as five days, basketball’s messy and exasperating December could give way to a steadier and more credible product as January unfolds.

Clearly, 2022 has opened with good cheer and swelling expectations for the Bulls, who haven’t won a title since Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” in 1998 and haven’t reached the Eastern Conference finals since 2011. Skeptics will want to see DeRozan, LaVine and Vucevic prove it in the playoffs, but optimists might point to the 2020 Heat as a relevant comparison point for the untested Bulls.

Like Jimmy Butler two years ago, DeRozan swept into town and immediately brought an offensive pop while helping to establish a no-excuses, team-first culture that is essential to consistent winning during a pandemic.

Just as the 2020 Heat were cast as underdogs for much of their surprise run to the Finals, the Bulls will face serious doubts in potential playoff matchups against the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks. Unlike Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeRozan has consistently hit the wall in the postseason, where he has shot just 42% overall and 23% on three-pointers and been outclassed by A-listers like LeBron James and Nikola Jokic.

DeRozan knows that painful history better than anyone. After repeated playoff failures with the Toronto Raptors, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard, who promptly delivered the 2019 title to Canada. The castoff DeRozan languished during his three years in San Antonio, unable to earn an all-star nod or win a playoff series.

“People were saying I was washed for the last two years,” DeRozan said in November, charting an early course for his transformative season. “The narrative that I wouldn’t fit. I could find all types of chips I use as my motivation. The hours I put in during the offseason. I can go down the list. Being counted out. Being looked over. So many chips on my shoulder. I just want to be a winner.”

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