Chicago (USA), May 13 (EFE) .- Guard Zach LaVine scored 24 points, Finnish power forward Lauri Markkanen reached 20 and the Chicago Bulls easily beat the Toronto Raptors 114-102 .
LaVine, coming off 41 points in Tuesday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets, scored 16 points in the second half.
Markkanen hit six 3-pointers, one less than his season record.
While point guard Coby White had a double-double of 17 points and 10 assists. Montenegrin center Nikola Vucevic also added a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds, the best in the inside game, and helped the Bulls win for the fourth time in five games.
The Bulls came within two games of the Washington Wizards, which rested, with two regular season games to be played for both teams, who are looking for the tenth place that I assured them to reach the play-in tournament (entry tournament) of playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago led by 24 points in the third quarter, with the Raptors without their best players on the field, already eliminated from the playoffs and forward Stanley Johnson finished as their best player after scoring 35 points, a career high.
The sixth-year pro hit six triples and finished with a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds.
Rookie guard Jalen Harris scored a career-high 17 points. Malachi Flynn added 16 points, but Toronto lost for the eighth time in nine games.
The Raptors entered the game with the casualties of their top six scorers, led by Cameroonian power forward Pascal Siakam, guard Fred VanVleet, point guard Kyle Lowry, English forward OG Anunoby, guard-forward Gary Trent Jr. and Canadian power forward Chris Boucher, injured or resting.
(c) EFE Agency