Zach LaVine scored 30 second-half points as the Chicago Bulls rallied from a 19-point deficit to eliminate the Toronto Raptors 109-105 in Wednesday's play-in tournament game.
The Bulls' victory sees them advance to the final play-in game against the Miami Heat on Friday, with the winner to take the eight seed and a playoffs first round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Chicago became the first 10th-place team to win a play-in game, but they did it the hard way, trailing by 16 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.
LaVine starred as they stormed home with a 37-24 fourth quarter, after the Bulls guard added 17 points in the third to cut the margin to nine points at the final change.
LaVine finished with a game-high 39 points on 12-of-22 shooting with six rebounds and three assists, while DeMar DeRozan added 23 points with seven rebounds and two blocks.
Raptors forward Pascal Siakam scored points with nine rebounds and six assists, with Fred VanVleet adding 26 points with seven three-pointers along with 12 rebounds and eight assists. VanVleet's 26 points included a half-time buzzer-beater from half court.
The Raptors were not helped by 50 per cent free-throw shooting, having to endure persistent and timed screams from DeRozan's daughter Diar upon each attempt throughout the game.
After trailing for most of the game, the Bulls went ahead on Patrick Beverley's three-pointer with 5:07 remaining.
Toronto's free-throw woes haunted them when Siakam spurned the chance to square the game up with 12.0 seconds left after Alex Caruso's foul when he missed two of three attempts.
Siakam had made it a one-point game with a driving dunk with 19.1 seconds remaining before the composed LaVine drained two free-throws.
Giddey and SGA lift OKC past Pels
A youthful Oklahoma City Thunder line-up showed maturity to progress past the New Orleans Pelicans 123-118 led by Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who rebounded after a quiet first half.
OKC advanced to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in Friday's play-in tournament game with the winner to take on the Denver Nuggets, while the Pelicans' season is over.
Gilgeous-Alexander only had seven first-half points but finished with a game-high 32 on 11-of-22 shooting, making eight-of-eight free-throws including a series down the stretch.
Australian guard Giddey had a near triple-double with 31 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Lu Dort added 27 points with four three-pointers.
Brandon Ingram top scored with 30 points, including a three-pointer to make it 119-118 with 4.1 seconds remaining, along with six rebounds and seven assists.
Herb Jones threw an out-of-bounds pass for CJ McCollum when the Pels were set for a three-point attempt to tie the game with 2.8 seconds left, allowing OKC to insure the win from the free-throw line.
OKC became the second 10th-place team to win a play-in game, following on from the Bulls achieving that earlier on Wednesday.
'We played harder' – Carlisle proud of Pacers' efforts after Indiana force Game 7
Rick Carlisle hailed the efforts of his Indiana Pacers players after they forced their playoff series with the New York Knicks to Game 7.
Carlisle challenged his players directly in the wake of their loss in Game 5, which put them 3-2 down in the series.
And the Pacers responded with a fine display in a 116-103 victory, which sees the series go down to the wire, with Game 7 set for Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
"It was just activity. We played harder tonight, which was a must," Carlisle said.
"We moved the ball better and we got more rebounds, and that's obviously a big key to the series.
"We gotta brace for Sunday. And we must be ready."
Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers, and said: "Coaches challenged our effort, I think that was the biggest thing.
"We had some boneheaded things happen [in Game 5].
"He [Carlisle] just really challenged our group [players] 1-15 on how can we be better."
Jalen Brunson finished with 31 points for the Knicks, but he was not overly impressed by his own performance.
"They try to make things difficult," Brunson said. "And I have to adjust as well. Show me different looks and I have to do a better job of reading it."
NBA: Siakam leads Pacers past Knicks to force Game 7 in East semifinals
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and Myles Turner added 17 as the Indiana Pacers rolled to a 116-103 victory over the New York Knicks to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.
Andrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell each added 15 points, with Nembhard grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists. Haliburton had nine assists as the Pacers remained perfect in six home games in this postseason.
The winner of Game 7 in New York on Sunday will advance to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
Jalen Bruson scored 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting after missing his final 11 shots in the first half. Deuce McBride added 20 points with four 3-pointers as the Knicks fell to 0-3 on the road in this series.
Already decimated by injuries, the Knicks lost starting forward Josh Hart in the fourth quarter due to abdominal soreness.
Hart was seen holding his midsection multiple times during the game and asked to be taken out after he had five points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.
New York is already without All-Star Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Indiana used a 14-6 run in the third quarter to take control, turning a 61-56 lead into a 75-62 advantage. The Pacers maintained at least a 10-point edge the rest of the way.
Toronto FC v CF Montreal: Courtois accepts blame amid ongoing winless streak
Laurent Courtois has accepted that it is on him to find a winning formula as CF Montreal look to snap their winless run against Toronto FC.
Montreal were beaten 3-1 by Columbus Crew in midweek and are now without a victory in six games in all competitions.
That includes a three-game losing streak in MLS, leaving them 13th in the Eastern Conference, and Courtois is eager to get back on track.
"It's up to me to find the winning formulas and discern the phases of the game," head coach Courtois said after the loss to Columbus.
"We have to grit our teeth and find solutions. The difficult times we are going through help me identify my group. I want to know the players better.
"From all the negative aspects we can observe, I can identify a few individual aspects to improve the game or the team itself."
Monreal's rivals Toronto have themselves lost back-to-back games ahead of Saturday's Canadian Classique at BMO Field.
Nashville SC scored twice late on to snatch a 2-0 win in the Reds' most recent match, but acting head coach Jason deVos admits there can be no excuses.
"The last ten minutes, two mistakes cost us and that's the cruelty of football sometimes - that it's a 90-minute match and you need to put in a 90-minute performance in," he said.
"The players are aware of that. They know where the growth areas are for us as a team."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto - Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi missed the loss to Nashville but will hope to start this weekend in a fixture he has fond memories of.
The Italian has scored in each of his two home games against Montreal, making him the third Toronto player to score in two successive home games against them after Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley.
Montreal - Joel Waterman
Montreal have conceded three or more goals five times across their 12 MLS games this season, which is tied with San Jose Earthquakes for the most in MLS.
They quite simply need to sharpen up at the back, with Joel Waterman needing to step up and hope others around him also do so.. The centre-back led the way for interceptions (three) and clearances (four) against Columbus, yet it was still not enough.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Montreal have won five successive matches against Toronto, following a run of neither side ever winning more than three on the spin in this fixture.
Toronto have won seven and drawn one of their eight matches in which they have held opponents under two goals since September, while they have lost all 13 in which they have shipped two or more.
Keeping the opposition quiet is therefore key, and this could present a chance to do just that against a Montreal side with fewer points (five) than any side in MLS since mid-March.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto - 39.6%
Draw - 28.5%
Montreal - 31.9%
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