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Chicago advances to face the Miami Heat on
Friday. The winner of the game, to be played in Miami, will move
on to meet the Milwaukee Bucks, the East's top seed, in the
first round of the playoffs.
The Bulls overcame a 19-point, third-quarter deficit against the
Raptors. A 29-28 lead early in the second quarter, which lasted
all of 19 seconds, was Chicago's only advantage until the
stretch run.
Patrick Beverley's trey with 5:07 remaining put the Bulls ahead
96-93, a lead they didn't relinquish.
Still, it wasn't easy. A Pascal Siakam dunk with 19.7 seconds
left brought the Raptors within 105-104. LaVine followed with a
pair of free throws, and Siakam hit 1 of 3 at the line before
Nikola Vucevic hit two free throws for the Bulls with 11.1
seconds left for a 109-105 lead.
Toronto missed its final two attempts from the field before
LaVine corralled the last rebound.
An 18-for-36 effort from the free-throw line took a toll on
Toronto, which shot 43.7 percent from the floor compared to 48.8
percent for Chicago.
Siakam had 32 points for the Raptors, who got double-doubles
from Fred VanVleet (26 points, 12 rebounds) and Scottie Barnes
(19 points, 10 rebounds).
O.G. Anunoby chipped in 13 points.
Vucevic posted 14 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago. Patrick
Williams chipped in 10 points and Coby White had nine points and
five assists.
Toronto took a 58-47 lead into halftime behind a balanced effort
that saw Siakam (20 points), VanVleet (14) and Barnes (11) each
score in double figures.
VanVleet provided some extra breathing room for the hosts by
drilling a 40-foot, buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
The Raptors took two of three from the Bulls in the regular
season, with the home team prevailing each time.
Chicago went 3-0 against Miami, with each game decided by at
least eight points.
--Field Level Media
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