NBA: Coby White’s career-high helps Bulls rout Hawks in play-in

Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) celebrates with guard Ayo Dosunmu after a Bulls basket during the second half of the team’s NBA basketball play-in tournament game against the Atlanta Hawks in Chicago, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The Bulls won 131-116. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

CHICAGO — Coby White scored a career-high 42 points, and the Chicago Bulls advanced in the NBA play-in tournament, knocking out the Atlanta Hawks with a 131-116 victory on Wednesday night.

White, whose previous high was 37, went hard at the rim throughout the game and had fans chanting his name down the stretch as the Bulls rolled past the Hawks. Chicago visits Miami on Friday for a shot at the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a first-round matchup with Boston.

The Heat lost 105-104 to Philadelphia on Wednesday.

READ: NBA: Trae Young says he feels better ahead of play-in vs Bulls

“I’m just so grateful — about the progress, that work’s finally showing (and) the opportunity I was given by this organization,” White said.

PSA: COBY WHITE SHOULD BE MIP.

42 pts | 15-21 FG | 9 reb | 6 ast | 2 stl pic.twitter.com/DKEfKgSmqj

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 18, 2024

“We’ve got another one Friday, we’ve got to push this playoff run,” added White, predicting Friday’s game in Miami — with a first-round meeting with the top-seeded Boston Celtics on the line — would be a “junkyard fight”.

Dejounte Murray led Atlanta with 30 points. But the Hawks came up short again after dropping their final six regular-season games.

Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Chicago. DeMar DeRozan finished with 22 points and nine assists.

Ayo Dosunmu added 19 points after missing the final four regular-season games because of a bruised right quadricep, and the Bulls shot 56.8% from the field.

READ: NBA: Bulls send Pistons to franchise-record 67th loss

Atlanta’s Trae Young and Clint Capela each scored 22. Young, who missed 23 games late in the regular season because of a torn ligament in his left pinkie, had 10 assists but committed six turnovers. Capela grabbed 17 rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 21 points.

The Bulls were up 88-85 when Vucevic nailed a 3-pointer with 4:59 left in the third quarter to kick off a 17-2 run.

White had the fans roaring when he scored on a neat spin around Young and fed a cutting Javonte Green for a dunk. White then scored on a layup following a block by Dalen Terry to make it 105-87 with 1:27 left in the third.

The Bulls led 40-22 after closing the first quarter on a 16-2 run, punctuated by Dalen Terry’s dunk off a steal by Alex Caruso. Young committed five turnovers in the period.

The Hawks quickly got back into it, reeling off 14 straight to start the second. The Bulls got the lead back up to 58-44 midway through the quarter when a rotating Dosunmu blocked De’Andre Hunter, drawing a huge roar from the crowd, and DeRozan broke for a three-point play.

The Hawks made another push near the end of the half, pulling within three in the closing minute. But Caruso answered an alley-oop dunk by Capela with a 3 and Chicago headed to the locker room with a 73-67 lead.

NEXT NBA SCHEDULE

Bulls: The Bulls and Heat split four games, with each team winning one on the road.