LaVine puts his stamp on Bulls' stunning play-in comeback over Raptors
More than three years have passed since Zach LaVine's signature game.
Without question, his best game in the NBA was on Nov. 23, 2019 when he scored 49 points, hit 13 of 17 3-pointers and knocked down the game-winning shot in the final second to cap a huge comeback at Charlotte.
LaVine has been playing as well as he ever has in the past month and finally brought another signature Zach moment to the court.
The Bulls seemed hopelessly out of their play-in game at Toronto after falling behind by 19 points in the third quarter.
LaVine decided to keep fighting. He scored 30 of his 39 points in the second half. Stunning doesn't even begin to describe the Bulls' 109-105 victory over the Raptors. They'll move on to face Miami on Friday with the No. 8 playoff seed at stake.
"His performance was extraordinary," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. "It gave us life and it gave us hope."
"Amazing," added teammate DeMar DeRozan. "He carried us. He put his will on the game and we all followed behind."
The Bulls outscored Toronto 37-24 in the fourth quarter. According to LaVine, the difference was just being aggressive and attacking the basket.
"We weren't doing terrible on defense, but offensively we were slow, we weren't getting downhill," LaVine said. "We just wanted to be aggressive attacking, just get going. One that happened I think the rhythm of the whole team got going."
DeRozan, back in his first NBA home, added 23 points. The defense of Alex Caruso and Patrick Beverley was also a major factor. Caruso finished with 9 points, 4 blocks and 3 steals.
The Bulls were terrible from 3-point range for most of the night - they finished 7-for-26 - but both Caruso and Beverley knocked down corner threes down the stretch when the Bulls took control.
"It's amazing how much pride they take in being defenders," DeRozan said. "It definitely gets us going."
Of course, the unsung hero of this game deserves credit, too: DeRozan's 9-year-old daughter Diar. Seated behind the basket, she let out well-time screams every time one of the Raptors attempted a free throw.
Did it help? Well the numbers speak for themselves. Toronto went 18-for-36 from the foul line on the night.
"My daughter called me the other day and she just said, 'Dad, can I go to the Toronto game?'" DeRozan said. "I almost said no because she's in school back home. She kept asking, she was just adamant about coming to support. I just said, 'All right, you can miss one day of school,' and I'm glad I did. I owe her some money for sure."
Asked if Diar will follow the Bulls to Miami, DeRozan said no, she can't miss any more school. But stay tuned, daughters have a tendency to get what they want.
Diar became a celebrity during the course of the game. She could be heard clearly on the television broadcast, then the ESPN cameras tracked her down and started doing a split screen during free-throw attempts.
"I just seen it, she went viral," DeRozan said with a laugh. "I kept hearing something during the game. I looked back and was like, 'Dang, that's my daughter screaming?' I was just making sure she was all right, though."
Toronto not only shot 3-pointers well in the first half, Rockford native Fred VanVleet finished the second quarter with a 45-footer at the buzzer, giving the Raptors a 58-47 advantage.
The Bulls opened the third quarter with some careless turnovers and fell behind 66-47 at the 9:09 mark of the third quarter. Everyone makes a run in the NBA, but the Bulls seemed hopelessly outmatched at that moment.
Late in the third quarter, LaVine scored 11 consecutive Bulls points, knocked down his first 3-pointer - Bulls starters had been 0-for-12 from long range at that point. Heading into the fourth, the Bulls were within 81-72 and the task ahead seemed possible.
The Bulls finally tied the game at 91-91 on Caruso's 3-pointer with 6:26 left, and took the lead on Beverley's 3 with 5:06 remaining.
From there, Toronto tied it once. LaVine put the Bulls ahead for good on a drive with 2:46 left. After a defensive stop, DeRozan's driving back put the Bulls up 104-100 and they got enough stops and free throws to hold on.
Pascal Siakam (32 points) had a chance to tie it by hitting 3 free throws with 12 seconds left, but he made just the first of the three attempts. The Bulls are the first No. 10 seed to win a play-in game in the three-year history of the event.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports