Chicago Bulls end Atlanta Hawks season with heroic performance by Coby White: Set to play Miami Heat for 8th seed

Thursday, 18 April 2024 at 13:25

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The Chicago Bulls hosted the Atlanta Hawks at United Center in the 9/10 play-in game and Coby White had a career night as he led his squad to a 131-116 victory. They will now face off against the Miami Heat on Friday for the 8th seed while the team from Georgia heads to the off-season.

Although the stats don't officially count, the Most Improved Player candidate scored a career-high 42 points along with 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals on 71% shooting to keep the Bulls season alive. DeMar Derozan had 22 points, 6 boards, and 9 assists while Nikola Vucevic recorded 24 points and 12 rebounds. Ayo Dosunmu provided 19 points while Alex Caruso only managed 6 points in his 17 minutes of play before being ruled out to a foot sprain.

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Dejounte Murray did everything he could to keep the Hawks season alive as he scored a team-high 30 points with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Trae Young had 22 points and 10 assists but looked uncomfortable all game long with the injury to his left hand. Bogdan Bogdanovic recorded 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks while Clint Capela provided 22 points and 17 boards.

Chicago will now play against the Miami Heat on Friday with the 8th seed on the line. This is a rematch of last season's final play-in game and the Bulls are looking to get revenge. The status of Jimmy Butler is up in the air due to an MCL injury and that will be a significant loss if he's out for that contest. The winner of this matchup will get a Round 1 matchup against the Boston Celtics.

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Atlanta now heads to the off-season in disappointing fashion and there are a lot of question marks facing this franchise. After hearing Dejounte Murray's name in trade rumors all season long, it will be interesting to see whether the front office breaks up the duo of their star guards. Teams will be interested in either Trae Young or the former Spur, so this could be the last game that these two players share the court.