TORONTO — With 28.7 seconds left in Wednesday’s play-in tournament game, DeMar DeRozan delivered his final blow to the Toronto Raptors in signature style — a step-back in the midrange, a flail of the arms, the shrill whistle of a foul call.
His former team knew the dangers of DeRozan’s pump fake. It didn’t matter — it rarely does.
As DeRozan made his way to the line, his daughter Diar — who terrorized the Raptors throughout the game with ear-piercing shrieks during free throws — pantomimed her father’s proper shooting form.
DeRozan sank only 1 of 2 free throws, but it gave the Bulls a three-point lead and they were able to withstand the final seconds of the single-elimination game — completing a stunning rally from a 19-point deficit for a 109-105 victory.
Zach LaVine scored 30 of his 39 points in the second half, and DeRozan added 23 points as the Bulls became the first No. 10 seed to win a play-in game. They advanced to a Friday meeting with the Heat in Miami (6 p.m., TNT), with the winner earning the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
That series will tip off Sunday in Milwaukee — and would be a rematch for the Bulls of last season’s first-round loss to the Bucks.
This was the homecoming DeRozan hoped for when he finally returned to Toronto in the postseason. He had to wait five years before earning the opportunity to face his former team with playoff stakes on the line.
It never manifested into animosity. Toronto fans wore aging Raptors jerseys bearing DeRozan’s name. His introduction garnered immediate applause that rang with an earnest warmth. And it wasn’t quite revenge that DeRozan was seeking — there was too much history, too much affection left over from seven seasons with the team that drafted him.
But DeRozan did crave redemption, a chance to prove he still could carry a team on the court where he crafted himself into an NBA All-Star. The sharpness of that desire was clear from the opening whistle — and the Bulls needed DeRozan as much as he needed a win.
DeRozan sat for only four minutes of the first half and played 39 of 48 minutes overall. The Raptors knew he would enter Scotiabank Arena hungry and countered with relentless pressure spearheaded by the lengthy OG Anunoby.
For nearly three quarters, the Raptors seemed to have the game in hand. The Bulls couldn’t handle their length in the paint or on the perimeter, struggling to make anything from 3-point range while Toronto’s Fred VanVleet splashed deep shots with ease.
When VanVleet landed a 40-foot haymaker to close the first half with an 11-point lead, it felt as if the Bulls had lost the script. They opened the second half with two missed shots and two turnovers, allowing the Raptors to stretch the lead to 19.
But then it was LaVine’s time to take the wheel.
This was always LaVine’s moment. He has been the face of the Bulls for five years. And in his first year as a maximum-contract player, the Bulls always were going to depend on him the most in a single-elimination game.
But in the days leading up to Wednesday’s game, it wasn’t LaVine garnering the spotlight. That fell on DeRozan because of the highly anticipated faceoff with his former team.
LaVine knew the stakes. He also knew the pressure DeRozan would face against the Raptors, who double-team and trap their former star better than any other team. And after a quiet first half, LaVine spent the second half making a statement, carving up the defense and pulling up to launch deep 3-pointers as the Bulls erased their big deficit.
LaVine finished 12 of 22 from the field, including 2 of 7 on 3s, and hit 13 of 15 free throws while playing 40 minutes.
The Bulls were hounded by their familiar weakness behind the 3-point arc, getting outscored 33-21 as VanVleet (26 points) hit 7 of 11 from deep. But they stayed afloat by nullifying one of the Raptors greatest offensive threats — scoring off turnovers (17 points).
They also got help from the Raptors’ poor shooting at the free-throw line, where they finished 18 of 36 — perhaps affected by Diar DeRozan’s intense work as a distraction.
