By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
During the NBA Night, both the Chicago Bulls and the Oklahoma City Thunder managed to take the win in their respective Play-In clash, taking out the Toronto Raptors 109-105 on the road and the New Orleans Pelicans 123-118 away.
The Bulls were dragged by the DeRozan-LaVine duo, but Nikola Vucevic also had an impressive game, ending with a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds, while adding 4 assists. He won the duel with Jakob Poeltl, who had 7 points and 8 rebounds, while O.G. Anunoby ended with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in the Toronto Raptors‘ loss.
With this victory, which came also with the contribution of DeMar DeRozan’s daughter in the stands, who kept on screaming during Raptors’ free throws to distract them, the Bulls advance to the next phase of the Play-In tournament, where they will face Miami for a spot in the playoffs.
Elsewhere, the Oklahoma City Thunder took down New Orleans with the contribution of Dario Saric, who came off the bench to provide 4 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes on the court. On the losing side, Jonas Valanciunas ended the game with a monster double-double of 16 points and 18 rebounds with 7/9 from the field. Willy Hernangomez didn’t play due to the coach’s decision.
The Thunder will now need to pull the upset against the Minnesota Timberwolves in order to advance to the playoffs, where they will potentially face the 1st seed Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic. In the Eastern Conference, whoever wins gets to face the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Raptors season FT%: 78.4%
Tonight: 50% (18-36)Instant Chicago legend. pic.twitter.com/V9Al6yjpCG
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 13, 2023
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images