Bulls win, clinch 7th playoff spot in Eastern Conference
Updated: January 7, 2009
Ben Gordon paced six Chicago players in double figures as the Bulls solidified the seventh playoff seed in the Eastern Conference with a 127-106 win over the Toronto Raptors at the United Center.
Gordon ended with 24 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls, who closed out the regular season with a six-game winning streak and will now face the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
Luol Deng added 21 points and seven rebounds, Kirk Hinrich scored 17 points with 10 assists and Chris Duhon and Jannero Pargo each scored 11 in the win. Andres Nocioni added 14 points and 11 boards for Chicago.
The Bulls now own a 13-game winning streak over Toronto.
Chicago could have finished as high as fifth in the Eastern Conference, but wins on Wednesday by Washington and Indiana prevented that.
Morris Peterson and Charlie Villanueva each netted 29 points for the Raptors, who lost 12 of their last 13 games to end the season. Joey Graham added 18 points in the loss.
Chicago netted 10 of the first 12 points in the game to take a quick lead and led 23-11 after a Nocioni layup with 5:50 to go in the first. Gordon capped the scoring in the first, connecting on a jumper with seven seconds left to give the Bulls a 34-23 edge after the opening 12 minutes.
Both teams kept pace in the second and the Bulls carried a 68-58 lead into the break.
The Bulls then outscored the Raptors, 35-20, in the third to extend to a comfortable 103-78 lead after the third.
Chicago opened up the stanza with a 12-0 run, capped after Hinrich`s jumper with 8:31 remaining in the third. Mike Sweetney added five straight points during the spurt. Gordon netted Chicago`s last eight points of the frame as the Bulls rolled.
Toronto outscored Chicago 28-24 in the fourth to account for the final margin.
Game Notes
Sweetney ended with nine points and six rebounds...Jose Calderon netted 10 points for Toronto while Villanueva grabbed 10 boards...Chicago shot 54.4 percent from the floor to Toronto`s 35.1 percent...Toronto finished with a road record of 12-29 while the Bulls were 21-20 at home during the regular season...Toronto`s last win against Chicago came on December 6, 2002
