Global Courant 2023-04-13 06:55:31
Zach LaVine took over in the second half as the visiting Chicago Bulls got past the Toronto Raptors 109-105 on Wednesday to win their single elimination play-in game.
LaVine scored 30 of his 39 points in the second half for Chicago, who trailed a whopping 19 points in the game. Former Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan scored 23 and pulled down seven rebounds.
Chicago will meet the Heat in Miami on Friday in the second round of the play-in tournament.
The winner of that game becomes the eighth seed in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs and plays the No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
Atlanta had already emerged as the seventh seed after the Hawks defeated Miami 116-105 in their first-round play-in game on Tuesday.
Fred VanVleet had a double-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for Toronto, including seven 3-pointers. The Raptors hosted the game after finishing the regular season ranked ninth in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
WATCH l VanVleet hits buzzer-beater 3-pointer from halfway:
Raptors’ VanVleet hits buzzer-beater from halfcourt against Bulls
As the first half draws to a close, Fred VanVleet hits a 3-point shot from half of the court during Toronto’s play-in tournament game against Chicago.
All-star forward Pascal Siakam scored 32 with nine rebounds for the Raptors and Scottie Barnes added 19.
VanVleet sank a buzzing three-pointer before the break, propelling the 19,800 fans at Scotiabank Arena to their feet and giving the Raptors a 58–47 lead, their biggest of the game to that point. It also improved VanVleet’s shooting from outside the arc to 4 of 5 at 24 minutes, bettering the entire Bulls lineup, which had gone 2 for 11 from three-point range in the half.
The Raptors didn’t give up in the third and started the quarter with a 10-3 run to open an 18-point lead.
LaVine scored 11 points in the final three minutes of the third quarter—including eight in a row—to cut Chicago’s deficit to nine. Despite the Bulls all-star guard’s blowout, Toronto entered the fourth quarter with an 81–72 lead.
After a back and forth start to fourth, Chicago closed the gap to third on an 8-0 run, with LaVine accounting for six of those runs.
Alex Caruso quieted the sold-out crowd with a three-pointer to make it 91-91 with 6:26 remaining. Barnes came right back with a layup, forcing Chicago head coach Billy Donovan to call a timeout.
On the ensuing possession, Caruso stole the ball from OG Anunoby for a breakaway.
Patrick Beverly sank a three-pointer on the Bulls next possession for their first lead of the game. Siakam’s dunk killed the fans, but LaVine answered with a 20-foot jumper to maintain a three-point lead before Barnes and DeRozan traded field goals.
VanVleet missed a deep three-pointer, but the rebound came to Toronto guard Gary Trent Jr., who returned it to VanVleet for another chance at the tying goal. VanVleet did not miss his second chance to tie the score at 100-100 with 3:10 to play.
LaVine answered with a two-pointer and then DeRozan grabbed a defensive rebound and scored on the other end to give the Bulls a four-point lead with less than two minutes left.
Barnes made one of two free throws on the next Raptors possession. Siakam was fouled by Beverley with 50 seconds left on the clock, making one of his two shots on the charity line to cut Chicago’s lead to two.
DeRozan then hit a free throw with 28.7 seconds remaining, forcing a timeout for Toronto. On the ensuing possession, Siakam drove to the net for a two-handed dunk and a one-run deficit over Raptors.
Anunoby fouled LaVine after Caruso shot the ball to him, sending it to the free throw line. LaVine hit both shots, giving the Raptors 17.9 seconds to tie the game.
Caruso fed the ball to Siakam on the inbound pass and immediately fouled the Toronto all-star forward for three free throws.
Siakam sank his first, but rattled it with his second and the ball rolled off the rim with his third, keeping Chicago ahead by two.
Nikola Vucevic was fouled on his rebound from Siakam’s last free throw and he made both free throws for the game’s final scores.
