TORONTO — Zach LaVine scored 39 points, DeMar DeRozan had 23 against his former team and the Chicago Bulls overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 109-105 in a play-in tournament game Wednesday night.
The Bulls will visit the Miami Heat on Friday night for the prospect to earn the eighth seed within the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, and a first-round playoff matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who trailed 66-47 within the third quarter but took the lead by making 4 of seven attempts from 3-point range within the fourth.
Chicago shot 3 for 19 from distance through the primary three quarters.
Fred VanVleet had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Pascal Siakam scored 32 points, but Toronto’s season led to disappointment because the Raptors — with DeRozan’s daughter, Diar, screaming once they shot — went a dismal 18 for 36 on the free throw line.
Toronto missed six attempts from the road within the fourth quarter.
Scottie Barnes had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, and O.G. Anunoby scored 13 points.
Chicago’s Alex Caruso connected from the corner to tie the rating at 91-all with 7:08 left within the fourth quarter and Patrick Beverley’s 3 with 5:07 remaining gave the Bulls a 96-93 lead. It was Beverley’s first basket of the sport.
VanVleet’s 3 with 3:11 to go knotted it again at 100-all, but LaVine and DeRozan replied with baskets for the Bulls.
Barnes and Siakam each made certainly one of two at the road contained in the final two minutes, and VanVleet missed a 3 that might have tied the sport.
Siakam’s driving dunk with 19 seconds left cut it to 105-104. After a timeout, LaVine pushed the lead to 3 with a pair of free throws. Caruso fouled Siakam on a 3 however the Raptors star missed his second and third attempts.
The Raptors led 28-23 after one and VanVleet connected on a halfcourt heave on the halftime buzzer as Toronto prolonged its result in 58-47.
VanVleet’s 3 with 9:09 left within the third gave Toronto a 19-point edge, however the Bulls shaved the gap and trailed 81-72 heading to the fourth.
