Staying Alive: Zach LaVine Leads Comeback As Bulls Eliminate Raptors in Toronto

• The Chicago Bulls defeated the Toronto Raptors in their Play-In encounter on Wednesday
• Zach LaVine’s spectacular second-half performance fueled Chicago’s comeback win
• The Bulls eliminated the Raptors from playoff contention

The Chicago Bulls will live to fight another day.

They battled back from a 19-point deficit in the second half to stun the Toronto Raptors 109-105 in their Play-In game on Wednesday night.

Zach LaVine starred for the Bulls, who will face the Miami Heat on Friday night for the eighth playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

LaVine spearheads second-half rally

The Bulls guard took matters into his own hands after the Raptors threatened to pull away in the third quarter.

LaVine scored 17 of his 39 points during that period to help Chicago slice the deficit to just nine points entering the fourth quarter. 

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There was no stopping the Bulls’ momentum as Chicago unleashed a 9-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 87-84, per ESPN.

They evened the score at 91-91 then took their first lead of the second half at 96-93 on a corner three by Patrick Beverley with 5:07 left in the contest.

The Raptors kept the game close, cutting the Bulls’ lead to one point in the final minute. Zach LaVine restored Chicago’s three-point lead after making a pair of free throws with 17.2 seconds left.

Free throw misses haunt Raptors

Toronto had a golden opportunity to send the game into overtime after Pascal Siakam was fouled by Alex Caruso while attempting a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining. The Cameroonian star failed to take advantage, missing two of his three free throws to seal the Raptors’ fate.

The Raptors struggled mightily on the free throw line, missing 18 of their 36 attempts from the charity stripe.

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DeRozan provides help to LaVine

LaVine drew plaudits after the game for his outstanding performance and rightfully so. The Bulls looked dead in the water during the third quarter, with Chicago players not named LaVine shooting just 4 of 15 from the field. He kept the Bulls afloat, putting them in a position to make their late charge in the fourth quarter.

Help finally came during the last 12 minutes with DeMar DeRozan making timely baskets for Chicago. He finished the game with 23 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

LaVine continued his fine play in the fourth quarter as he scored a total of 30 points in the second half.

Lakers advance to NBA Playoffs

Sports Brief recently reported on the Lakers defeating the Wolves in their Play-In game.

LeBron James scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Los Angeles to an overtime win.

The Lakers rallied from 15 points down to set up a first-round clash with the Memphis Grizzlies.