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Precious Achiuwa's playoff hopes with the Raptors ended with mobster performances by LaVine and DeRozan.
The Chicago Bulls recorded a 109-105 victory away against the Toronto Raptors in an Eastern Conference play-in fixture played in the early hours of Thursday, April 13, 2023.
The Raptors battled the Bulls as the ninth and 10th seed in the Eastern Conference with the winner progressing to the next stage of the pay-in tournament.
The Raptors were playing at home starting out hot and were able to establish a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Raptors continued to dominate and put up 30 points and increase their lead to 11 going to the halftime break.
The Bulls started their comeback in the second half holding the Raptors to just 23 points in the third quarter and reducing the deficit to single digits.
The fourth quarter was an avalanche of clutch plays executed perfectly by the Bulls as they put up 37 points and outscored the Bulls by 13 to hold on for a four-point victory.
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LaVine, DeRozan and his daughter lead Bulls to victory against Raptors
Bulls superstar duo DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine willed the Bulls to victory from 19 points down against the Raptors.
DeMar’s daughter Diar was screaming all game during free throw attempts as the Raptors missed 18 free throws tonight.
Her father was productive with 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in 39 minutes of action.
DeRozan made 10 of 19 shots, attempted just one from three-point range, and was three of five from the free-throw line.
It was sweet revenge for DeRozan who was traded by the Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs back in 2018.
DeRozan had help from LaVine who contributed 39 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal in 41 minutes of action.
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LaVine made 12 of 22 shots, was two of seven from three-point range, and 13 of 15 from free-throw range.
DeMar was full of praise for LaVine for his performance leading the Bulls to victory.
He said, "Not many people in this league has the talent he has...I know how hard he works, how much he cares about the game.
"He's a hell of a person. Was a fan of him before I came to Chicago, and now to share every moment with him means a lot."
African duo Siakam and Achiuwa playoff dreams die
The African duo of Cameroon forward Pascal Siakam and Nigeria's Precious Achiuwa were unable to inspire the Toronto Raptors to victory against the Bulls.
Siakam in 43 minutes of action, contributed 32 points, nine rebounds six assists, and one steal.
He made 13 of his 22 shots, was one of three from three-point range, and struggled with five of 11 from the free-throw line.
Nigeria's Achiuwa was part of the Raptors' second unit and in 10 minutes of action contributed six points and four rebounds.
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After eliminating the Raptors, the Bulls now take on the Miami Heat that lost the seven seed to the Atlanta Hawks.
The winner of the Bulls and Heat play-in takes the eighth seed and sets up a massive clash against a Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks with the best record in the regular season.
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