The Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder kept their postseason hopes alive following victories during Wednesday’s Play-In Tournament.
Chicago rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit, edging the Toronto Raptors 109-105. Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 39 points, while former Raptors great DeMar DeRozan added 23.
“I think that’s why our team is set up for success, we got two killers in Zach and DeMar,” said Bulls guard Alex Caruso. “That’s all we got to do is play our roles, and then we know we got two killers that, down the stretch of the game, can go get a bucket on just about anybody in the league.”
Chicago will try and clinch the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed on Friday against the Miami Heat.
Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and Lu Dort combined for 90 points as the Thunder downed the New Orleans Pelicans 123-118.
“Great 48-minute effort out of the team,” said Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault. “Great poise. Obviously, New Orleans made a couple big runs at us…Thought our guys had a great temperament in the huddles…got back to our habits, and it was a great effort out of the team.”
The NBA’s second-youngest squad, OKC, will battle the Minnesota Timberwolves for the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed, also on Friday.
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