Bulls' Alex Caruso Compared to Deion Sanders, Ray Lewis on Defense by DeMar DeRozan

The Phoenix Suns escaped Wednesday's matchup against the Chicago Bulls with a 116-115 overtime victory, but one player stood out the most.

And it wasn't Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, DeMar DeRozan or Zach LaVine.

Alex Caruso was unbelievable for the Bulls, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists behind 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from deep.

And if that wasn't enough, he shut down Durant throughout crunch time and was a defensive force whenever he was on the floor.

"He's our Ray Lewis. He's the Deion Sanders. He's the Charles Woodson," DeRozan said, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. "He definitely is one of those great, vocalist, communicators and competitors when it comes to that end of the ball.

"He's a guy that without a doubt can win [Defensive Player of the Year] for sure."

Chicago was plus-24 during the 31 minutes Caruso played, which is a testament to his ability to impact the game a number of ways. Collier cited Second Spectrum data and noted Durant didn't score in any of his 14 half-court matchups with the much smaller guard, one of which came when the future Hall of Famer had a chance to win it in regulation:

"First of all, it's just his mentality," Durant said of Caruso. "A hard worker that's going to do all that he can for his teammates. Great teammate that plays hard and that makes up for a lot of mistakes.

"He's a phenomenal player, phenomenal—I don't even want to call him a role player. He's just a guy that you can plug with any lineup and he's going to make the right reads, the right plays on the defensive and offensive side. Bulls are lucky to have him."

Unfortunately for Chicago, it is just 3-6 on the season.

However, it at least has a bright spot with Caruso's defense leading the way.