Bulls knock Hawks out of play-in, advance to face Heat

CHICAGO — After Coby White knocked down a deep 3-pointer to give the Chicago Bulls a 21-point lead within the fourth quarter Wednesday evening, a sold-out United Center erupted in a booming cheer.

CO-BY! CO-BY! CO-BY!

White completed with a career-high 42 factors, the second-most by a participant in a play-in recreation (Jayson Tatum had 50 in 2021) and his first profession 40-point recreation, to lead the Bulls to a 131-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks within the Eastern Conference play-in event. The recreation is not going to formally rely towards White’s profession regular-season or profession playoff stats, however he did not need to hear it.

“It’s on the stat sheet right here,” White mentioned with a smile as he pointed to the paper in his hand at a postgame information convention.

White’s efficiency helped the Bulls roll previous the Hawks in Wednesday’s elimination recreation and right into a rematch with the Miami Heat on Friday evening for the No. 8 seed within the Eastern Conference playoffs and a first-round collection with the Boston Celtics. Miami misplaced 105-104 to Philadelphia within the different play-in recreation Wednesday.

The Bulls can avenge their loss from the ultimate 2023 play-in recreation, which was additionally in Miami. Chicago had a three-point lead with three minutes remaining earlier than the Heat ended the sport on a 15-1 run.

“I remember that plane ride back home vividly, everybody was just frustrated,” Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan mentioned after Wednesday’s recreation. “That feeling sucked. I know for me that was one thing that was on my mind once I realized we were going back to Miami, not to have that same feeling.”

Chicago and Miami could have main harm questions heading into Friday’s matchup.

Heat star Jimmy Butler will obtain an MRI on Thursday on his proper knee after he suffered an harm throughout their play-in recreation on Wednesday. Sources confirmed to ESPN that the Heat worry Butler has an MCL harm.

The Bulls may very well be with out guard Alex Caruso, who suffered a “significant” left ankle sprain, sources instructed ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, that has put his availability doubtful. Bulls middle Andre Drummond stepped on Caruso’s proper foot throughout the recreation, and Caruso mentioned that whereas making an attempt to catch himself he aggravated a left foot difficulty that had hampered him towards the tip of the season.

“I do until I can’t,” Caruso mentioned about whether or not he expects to play Friday. “We’ll see how it goes the next couple days, but my mindset would be to play until my body tells me I can’t.

The Bulls were in control of Wednesday’s game from the start, jumping out to a 40-22 after closing the first quarter on a 16-2 run.

“[Coby] led us tonight” said DeRozan, who finished with 22 points. “We talked earlier than the sport coming out, being aggressive. Trying to make an announcement early on and never wait. That’s what we did.”

The Hawks dropped their final seven games of the season, and Wednesday’s loss marked their first play-in loss in franchise history (they entered 3-0).

Dejounte Murray led Atlanta with 30 points and Trae Young, who missed 23 games with a torn ligament late in the season, had 22 points with 10 assists, but he committed six turnovers. Still, the Hawks mounted a comeback to cut the lead to 88-85 in the third quarter, before Chicago responded with a 17-2 run.

White’s performance set the tone for the Bulls. He had a career-high 22 points in the paint, scoring or assisting 32 points directly off those drives, also a career-high, according to Second Spectrum data.

“I root for guys that work arduous and are nice individuals,” Murray said of White. “DeMar DeRozan’s a brother to me and he speaks extremely of him. He says he works arduous, he is an important man, he is dealt with his enterprise, he is knowledgeable on and off the ground. When I hear these issues, I root for guys across the league simply to have success. I feel he is all the time been good. He by no means actually obtained the chance to showcase what he is showcasing now, and the sky is the restrict.”

Said White: “I’m simply grateful to be the place I’m at. That first playoff collection I ever had in my profession did not go how I wished it to go. And then final yr, I performed higher within the play-in, however this yr, I did not come into the sport saying I used to be going to put the staff [on my back]. I simply wished to be aggressive and take what the protection gave me and take a look at to lead.”