White saves the day as Bulls win in overtime

Patrick Gorski - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 1 day ago

CHICAGO—Leave it to the Chicago Bulls (24-36) to tank incorrectly. Currently sitting in the final play-in spot for the playoffs, the Bulls have been making some late-season lineup changes in an effort to tank for the best possible draft pick. The only problem with that is that the Bulls have played better as a team since making those changes, and the teams behind them are so much worse that they can't play badly enough to lose ground.

One of those teams is the Toronto Raptors (18-42), who came into the United Center on Friday with upset on their mind. This was a game where the Raptors controlled things most of the night as they scored at least 30 points on the offensive end in each of the first two quarters to race out to a nine-point halftime lead. Toronto then continued to build on their lead in the third, only to have the Bulls battle back late, as this remained a nine-point game heading into the fourth.

It was in the fourth that the Chicago Bulls started to play their brand of basketball. They put the clamps down defensively to hold the Raptors to just 20 points over the final 12 minutes. That gave the Bulls' offense a chance to battle back, and they did. They outscored the Raptors by nine in the final quarter, capped off by a Coby White four-point play that sent the game into Overtime knotted at 110-110.

That was all the Bulls needed to put the game away as the Bulls came out firing in the overtime period and outscored the Raptors 15-5 in the overtime frame to pick up a 125-115 overtime victory. With the win, the Bulls extended their lead over the Brooklyn Nets to 2.5 games, as they now have some breathing room for the play-in spot.

When you talk about a balanced offensive attack, look no further than what the Bulls put out on Friday, as eight players scored in double figures. That included all five starters, with White leading the way with 24. Although he got off to a slow start in the first half, White put the team on his back late and was the only player to score 20 points for the Bulls in the win.

Josh Giddey joined him as he continued to build on his double-double streak by picking up 19 points and 12 assists, and he was the engine that made this offense go. Zach Collins made his third consecutive start for Nikola Vucevic, who is nursing a calf injury, and continued to do his best Vucevic impression. He came away with 15 points and added 13 rebounds as the Bulls suddenly have a center they could lean on for the future.

The Bulls also received 14 points from Lonzo Ball, who knocked down four of the team's 13 triples, and Matas Buzelis, who battled through some recent struggles to finish with 10 points and gave the Bulls an impressive boost. Not only did the Bulls starters have a great night, but their bench was equally as impressive as they were responsible for 43 points.

Thirty-six of those points came from three players, with Kevin Huerter leading the way with 15 points off four triples. Ayo Dosunmu returned to the lineup to add 11 points, with Tre Jones picking up 10, giving the Bulls eight scoring options they could count on. Jalen Smith returned to the lineup to add four points, and Julian Phillips closed out the scoring with three.

After being listed as a game-time decision for the Raptors, Scottie Barnes was not only in the lineup but also scored 24 points, which tied White for the game-high. Barnes was more than just scoring the basketball, adding eight rebounds and six assists to do a little bit of everything on the floor. Joining Barnes in having a strong showing was fellow guard Immanuel Quickley, who connected on four triples and added 23 points to give the Raptors an impressive 1-2 punch.

Like the Bulls, the Raptors starting five did plenty of the heavy lifting as all five of their starters landed in double figures to shoulder most of the load. RJ Barrett flirted with a triple most of the game to finish with 18 points while adding eight assists and seven rebounds. Toronto also saw Gradey Dick chip in with 13 points, with Jakob Poeltl picking up 10 points in what was a relatively quiet night for him.

This game was won and lost based on the production of the bench, as the Bulls bench outscored the Raptors 43-27. Anytime you have a minus-16 scoring differential from your bench, it will be hard to win games, as Orlando Robinson was the only player with more than 10 points off the Raptors bench. Robinson finished with 12 points and pulled down eight boards, as he was responsible for nearly half of their bench points in the loss.