By R.L. Bynum
Where was Coby White with the game on the line at the end?
That’s what many on social media wanted to know after his 3-pointer with 3:47 left (shown below) gave the Chicago Bulls a three-point lead. The Miami Heat outscored Chicago 15–1 the rest of the way, going on to a 102–91 victory in a play-in tournament elimination game to end the Bulls’ season.
While White was sitting on the bench from the 2:17 mark until 40.7 seconds remained, Miami outscored the Bulls 5–1.
Chicago coach Billy Donovan said he put Patrick Beverly in to replace White late in the game for defensive purposes.
“I just felt like from a defensive standpoint and us needing to get some stops,” Donovan said. “We tried to put Coby in some actions. I kind of went with Coby there for a little bit. Coby made that 3, kept him in there and then just really just tried to do something a little bit different.”
White’s 3-pointer with 6:19 left gave Chicago an 85–80 lead.
White, who tied for the Bulls’ scoring lead with nine fourth-quarter points, was 5 of 10 from the floor for the game and made 4 of 6 3-point attempts to go with five rebounds and four assists.
With the play-in tournament over, first-round playoff series start Saturday, beginning with Cameron Johnson, Day’Ron Sharpe and the Brooklyn Nets. The No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, Brooklyn plays No. 3-seed Philadelphia on the road in Game 1 at 1 p.m.
Danny Green’s No. 4-seed Cleveland Cavaliers play host to No. 5-seed New York at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN).
In an ABC game at 8:30 Saturday night, Harrison Barnes’ Sacramento Kings, the No. 3 Western Conference seed, play host to No. 6-seed Golden State.
Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings forward
Age 30 | 6–8, 225 | 11th NBA season | UNC 2010–12 (2 seasons)
Regular-season statistics — 82 games, 15.0 points, 47.3 FG%, 37.4 3FG%, 84.7 FT%, 4.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Sacramento finished 48–34, third in the Western Conference
Kings No. 3 seed in first-round Western Conference series with No. 6-seed Golden State
8:30 Saturday at Sacramento, ABC
10 p.m. Monday at Sacramento, TNT
10 p.m. Thursday at Golden State, TNT
3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 23, at Golden State, ABC
If needed:
Wednesday, April 26, at Sacramento
Friday, April 28, at Golden State
Sunday, April 30, at Sacramento
Danny Green, Cleveland Cavaliers guard
Age 35 | 6–6, 205 | 13th NBA season | UNC 2005–09 (4 seasons)
Regular-season statistics — 11 games, 5.5 points, 44.9 FG%, 42.2 3FG%, 1–1 FT, 1.3 rebounds, 0.5 of an assist
Cleveland finished 51–31, fourth in the Western Conference
Cavaliers No. 4 seed in first-round Eastern Conference series with No. 5-seed New York
6 p.m. Saturday at Cleveland, ESPN
7:30 Tuesday at Cleveland, TNT
8:30 Friday, April 21, at New York, ABC
1 p.m. Sunday, April 23, at New York, ABC
If needed:
Wednesday, April 26, at Cleveland
Friday, April 28, at New York
Sunday, April 30, at Cleveland
Cameron Johnson, Brooklyn Nets forward
Age 27 | 6–8, 210 | fourth NBA season | UNC 2017–19 (2 seasons)
Regular-season statistics — 42 games, 15.5 points, 47.0 FG%, 40.4 3P%, 84.28 FT%, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists
Brooklyn finished 45–37, sixth in the Eastern Conference
Nets No. 6 seed in first-round Eastern Conference series with No. 3-seed Philadelphia
1 p.m. Saturday at Philadelphia, ESPN
7:30 Monday at Philadelphia, TNT
7:30 Thursday at Brooklyn, TNT
1 p.m. Saturday, April 30, TNT
If needed:
Monday, April 24, at Philadelphia
Thursday, April 27, at Brooklyn
Saturday, April 29, at Philadelphia
Day’Ron Sharpe, Brooklyn Nets center
Age 21 | 6–9, 265 | second NBA season | UNC 2020–21 (1 season)
Regular-season NBA statistics — 48 games, 4.7 points, 54.4 FG%, 6–11 3FG, 63.6 FT%, 4.2 rebounds, 0.8 of an assist, 0.7 of a block
Regular-season G League statistics — 14 games, 16.3 points, 64.4 2PFG%, 21.1 3FG%, 57.1 FT%, 12.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 blocks, 12 double-doubles
Brooklyn finished 45–37, sixth in the Eastern Conference
Nets No. 6 seed in first-round Eastern Conference series with No. 3-seed Philadelphia
1 p.m. Saturday at Philadelphia, ESPN
7:30 Monday at Philadelphia, TNT
7:30 Thursday at Brooklyn, TNT
1 p.m. Saturday, April 30, TNT
If needed:
Monday, April 24, at Philadelphia
Thursday, April 27, at Brooklyn
Saturday, April 29, at Philadelphia
Coby White, Chicago Bulls guard
Age 23 | 6–4, 195 | fourth NBA season | UNC 2018–19 (1 season)
102–91 Friday loss at Toronto — 31 minutes, 14 points, 5–10 FG, 4–6 3FG, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnover, 4 fouls, -12
Regular-season statistics — 74 games, 9.7 points, 44.3 FG%, 37.2 3P%, 87.1 FT%, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists
Play-in tournament statistics — 2 games, 11.6 points, 64.3 FG%, 71.4 3P%, 2.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 steal
Chicago finished 40–42, 10th in the Eastern Conference
The loss to Raptors eliminated the Bulls
Get an explanation of the game score metric here. Michael Jordan produced the all-time-high game score of 64.6 on March 28, 1990, in the Chicago Bulls’ 117–113 overtime win at Cleveland. Jordan had 69 points on 23 of 37 shooting (2 of 6 from 3-point range), made 21 of 23 free-throw attempts and collected 18 rebounds, six assists, four steals and a block.
Photo via @chicagobulls; graphics via @NBAPR
tarheeltribune.com 
I have to say I stopped understanding what the Bulls were doing with Beverly from the get-go. I know box scores are not a true reflection of the contributions of players, but Beverly doesn’t score and as for defense, he does not actually get that many steals.
LikeLike