The NBA Play-In Tournament has given fans a flurry of upsets thus far, with the Chicago Bulls becoming the latest road team to pull off the triumph. The Bulls were able to mount a second-half comeback to defeat the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, setting up a date with the Miami Heat on Friday night. The early Bulls-Heat NBA Play-In Tournament odds show the Bulls will once again be the underdog when trying to earn the No. 8 seed in the NBA Playoffs.
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Bulls-Heat NBA Play-In Tournament Odds: Chicago A Road Dog Again
- Spread: Bulls +5 (-110), Heat -5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Bulls +170, Heat +200
The Bulls closed as a 6.5-point underdog (on DraftKings) against the Raptors, and it sure looked like Toronto would cruise to victory for most of the game. After point guard Fred VanVleet drilled a half-court to close out the first half, Toronto was able to take an 11-point lead into the locker room. But the Bulls found some energy in the second half.
Led by a heroic 39-point performance by Zach LaVine, the Bulls were able to pull off the comeback win against the Raptors. LaVine had just seven points in the first half. The Bulls were down by as many as 19 points in the second half.
The Bulls will have reason to be confident heading to Miami after winning all three matchups during the regular season. The Heat lost to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday but will have a quick chance to get the sour taste out of their mouths.
“We have to stay confident,” Jimmy Butler said in the postgame media availability, per ESPN’s Nick Friedell. “We have to know we are capable of winning, if we start out the right way and rebound obviously. But it’s just, I don’t know, shots don’t go in, we foul—that’s never the recipe for success with us. So come Friday, we’ve got to play, like, legit the exact opposite that we played tonight.”
Butler will now have to back up his words when playing against a Bulls team who drafted him back in 2011. The early Bulls-Heat NBA Play-In Tournament odds show Butler will have an edge against his former team. But the Bulls proved on Wednesday that they can perform at their best when being doubted. The winner of Friday night’s game will head to Milwaukee for an NBA Playoff series against the Bucks.
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