The Chicago Bulls’ season has come to an end.
On Friday night, the Bulls fell to the Miami Heat, 102-91, in the play-in finale to earn the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Out the gate, the Heat jumped out to a steady lead in the first half as they went into halftime with a five-point lead.
In the third quarter, the Bulls fought to close the gap and took a 68-67 lead into the fourth quarter.
Chicago jumped out to a six-point lead halfway through the fourth quarter before the Heat went on a 27-11 run to close out the game and end the Bulls’ season.
“Everybody was playing their heart out. It was a low-scoring game, high defense, Everybody was just trying to put the ball in the hoop,” Zach LaVine said. “It hurts. You try to scratch away and win the game. We didn’t make enough plays. This stings.”
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 26 points, four rebounds, nine assists, and one steal on 9-of-19 shooting from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line
Coming off his 39-point performance against Toronto, LaVine struggled from the floor, scoring just 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting.
Check out the player grades from Friday night’s play-in loss below.
DeMar DeRozan: A-
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls in Friday’s loss, finishing with 26 points, four rebounds, nine assists, and one steal on 9-of-19 shooting from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line.
Zach LaVine: C
After a 39-point performance to advance the Bulls past the Raptors in the opening play-in game, Zach LaVine struggled on Friday. LaVine scored just 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting from the floor and going 0-of-6 from downtown.
Nikola Vucevic: C
Nikola Vucevic did his part on the defensive end, slowing down Bam Adebayo to just 1-of-9 shooting, but didn’t make much of an impact offensively or on the boards. Vooch finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in the loss, while Adebayo grabbed 17 boards.
Alex Caruso: A
Alex Caruso was the Bulls’ second-best player in Friday’s loss to Miami, finishing with 16 points, three rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor and 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
Coby White: B+
Coby White came off the bench and played big minutes for the Bulls in the fourth quarter, hitting two 3-pointers in the final six minutes. White finished with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 from deep.
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