Bulls beat Raptors in battle of playoff contenders
![Bulls beat Raptors in battle of playoff contenders](https://media.philstar.com/photos/2021/04/09/nikola-vucevic-bulls-nba_2021-04-09_11-59-26.jpg)
LOS ANGELES – Chicago's new look roster is blending together nicely as the Bulls had seven players in double figure scoring in beating the Toronto Raptors, 122-113, in an Eastern Conference matchup on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).
Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine scored a team-high 22 points each for the Bulls, who are battling the Raptors for the 10th and final playoff spot in the East standings.
The Bulls improved to 22-28 while Toronto dropped to 20-32 on the season. With its second win over Toronto, the Bulls clinched the three-game season series and the teams meet again on May 13 in Chicago.
Lauri Markkanen, Coby White and Daniel Theis came off the bench to provide double-figure scoring for the Bulls, who have won two straight after a six-game skid.
Chris Boucher carried the offensive load with 38 points and 19 rebounds for the Raptors, who completed a four-game homestand. It was a career performance by Boucher.
"He had a night that's for sure," said Toronto coach Nick Nurse. "He was taking shots I don't think I have ever seen him take before. He had some really good moments on defense too. He is getting to start now and he is getting big minutes."
LaVine completed a double-double with a game-high 13 assists for the Bulls, who had opened their current road trip with a 113-97 win at Indiana.
Markkanen contributed 18 points, White had 15 and Theis 14 for the Bulls, who showed a lot more depth off the bench than the Raptors.
Also, Jimmy Butler scored 28 points to lead the host Miami Heat to a 110-104 win over the mistake-prone Los Angeles Lakers.
Miami also got 18 points from Victor Oladipo, who left the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent knee injury.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a team high 28 points for the Lakers who gave up eight more points than Miami on turnovers.
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