We had this trip planned for Florida about 5 months back; in the middle of winter, it was good to get something on the calendar that would be warm and sunny… something to look forward to. We’d spend some days in the Keys, then head up to Orlando, to see my wife’s family, but also, head to one of the amusement parks, per my son’s request. As we got closer to the trip, and the play-in slots were decided in the East, we saw there was a possibility that the Bulls would play in Miami on Friday night. When we told him that, he said, sure, he’d love to go to the game; when we told him it was either Universal Studios or the game, his decision came quick: Universal. All good…
Well, on Tuesday night, the Heat lost, which checked the first box of what needed to happen; it was up to the Bulls to check that second box in Toronto on Wednesday night. As the game began, and went on, it looked like the Bulls stay in the postseason would be short. I guess you can call this a postseason game? I mean, technically they weren’t in the playoffs yet, but the play-in games can still be considered postseason right? Whatever… the Bulls were down by 19 points; it was over. We were ready to jump on the shuttle and head back downtown to get another piece of Key Lime pie. But, just that quick, the Bulls began one of their patented comebacks. Yes, the Bulls were not only good for blowing 20 point leads, but they had come back a handful of times as well; this one would occur on a slightly elevated stage. The Bulls would be the first 10 seed in NBA history to win a Play-In Game; woo hoo!!! Raise the banner now…
It would be Zach Lavine who played quite possibly the best game of his career. Yes, shout out to DeRozan’s daughter for her screams that lead to 18 missed free throws by the Raptors, but it was all about Zach; I couldn’t believe it. All that crap I’ve talked about him all year long… I had to give him his flowers; he really did deserve it. THIS is what we should get from our max guy; THIS is what being the man looks like, and Zach was truly the man in this one. Bravo Zach.
The Bulls win meant there WOULD be another play-in game on the road in Miami vs the Heat. This city which normally is quite far from us, but this week, was quite close. As soon as the Bulls closed out the W, my son said “I want to go to the game!” My wife and I looked at each other… uh, you sure? You know, it’s Universal OR the Bulls. He said he was sure; we didn’t argue with him and his quick flip flop. Thankfully, we hadn’t bought the theme park tix yet, so we easily changed gears to looking for Bulls tickets for Friday night in Miami… hell to the yeah!!!
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