Zach LaVine claimed that he and the rest of the squad maintained their composure despite the Chicago Bulls trailing the Toronto Raptors by 19 points in the third quarter.

On the following possession, he drove to the hoop while keeping his head down, drawing a foul that resulted in a three-point play and starting to reduce the gap. In a play-in tournament game on Wednesday night, LaVine led the Bulls with 39 points, including 30 in the second half, to a 109-105 victory over the Raptors.

For a chance to secure the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round meeting with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, the Bulls will travel to the Miami Heat on Friday night.

Only Jayson Tatum’s 50-point performance against the Wizards in 2021 is higher by a player in a play-in game than LaVine’s 39 points, which tie for second place.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan said of LaVine, “What he did going into the third quarter and into the fourth, it would have been very, very difficult for us to have won that game if he had not done that.” He gave a remarkable performance. It gave us both hope and life.

Then, after we got back into the game, I believe several guys made a variety of plays. But he deserves credit for having the attitude that he would do whatever it took to put us back in the game.

By consistently attacking the rim in the second half, the Bulls became the first team with a 10th seed to win a play-in tournament game.

According to ESPN monitoring, they generated 29 points from drives in the second half while holding the Raptors to just two points. LaVine led the way with 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 7-for-7 free throws.

LaVine clarified, “Just aggressiveness really.” “We began to understand how they were deceiving us. They started pick-and-roll doubling [DeMar DeRozan] because they were so far up the floor. For me, the third quarter is the time to go all in.

In addition, DeRozan scored 23 points against his old team. He and LaVine scored a total of 20 points in the fourth quarter; Toronto only managed 24.

Additionally, the Bulls made four of their seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter after shooting just 3-for-19 overall to start the game, including crucial baskets from Alex Caruso and Patrick Beverley.

After the game, Caruso stated, “I think that’s why our team is set up for success, we got two killers in Zach and DeMar.” All we have to do is fulfil our responsibilities, and once the game is close, we know we have two killers who can go in for a bucket on just about anyone in the league.

The Raptors, however, let the Bulls get back into the game by failing to convert on their opportunities at the free throw line. Toronto missed more free throws in a winner-takes-all game than at any other time since 1969, shooting 18 for 36 from the line while DeRozan’s 9-year-old daughter, Diar, screamed when they shot.

“That’s a lot of misses,” remarked Raptors coach Nick Nurse. “We left a lot on the table in terms of points.”

LaVine struggled at the beginning of the season after having knee surgery in the summer, but his effort on Wednesday marked the culmination of an outstanding second half of his season. LaVine missed the Bulls’ first game of the season and four of their first eight contests overall while he sat out back-to-backs.

But this season, as his health has improved, so has his output. LaVine has been averaging 26.4 points on 50% shooting (37% from three), 4.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists since the start of the month.

LaVine remarked after the game, “I knew I was going to be in rhythm after coming off injury in the summertime. “DeMar gets credit for talking to me when I was angry early in the season and helping me regain my flow. I then began to feel like myself a month before the All-Star break.

There aren’t many players in this league with Zach’s talent, said DeRozan. Just seeing him be cherished from the moment I arrived feels amazing. Because of how hard he works, how much he cares about the game, and how great of a person he is, I wanted things to go his way in a favourable way.

Before he moved to Chicago, I had always been a fan, so being able to spend every moment with him and witness it meant a lot.

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