TORONTO — Even when the Chicago Bulls fell behind by 19 points in the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors, Zach LaVine said he and the rest of the team remained calm.
He put his head down and drove to the basket on the next possession, drawing a foul that led to a three-point play and began to chip away at the deficit. LaVine scored 39 points on Wednesday night, including 30 in the second half to help the Bulls rally to beat the Raptors 109-105 in a play-in tournament game on Wednesday night.
The Bulls advance to visit the Miami Heat on Friday night for a chance to earn the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
LaVine’s 39 points are tied for the second most by any player in a play-in game, trailing only Jayson Tatum’s 50-point game against the Wizards in 2021.
“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,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said about LaVine. “His performance was extraordinary. It gave us life and it gave us hope.
“Then once we got back into it, I think a lot of guys made a lot of different plays. But I give him credit, he had that mentality that he’s going to do whatever he can do to get us back into the game.”
The Bulls became the first 10th seed to win a play-in tournament game by getting to the rim constantly in the second half.
They created 29 points off drives in the second half while limiting the Raptors to just two points, according to ESPN tracking, led by LaVine, who scored 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting on drives (7-for-7 free throws).
“Just aggressiveness really,” LaVine said. “We started figuring out how they were playing us. They were so far up the court and they started doubling [DeMar DeRozan] with pick and rolls… for me, in the third quarter, just throw it all out there.”
DeMar DeRozan added 23 points…
