Watch: Zach LaVine blows by OG Anunoby for a one-handed hammer
Zach LaVine got off to a blazing hot start in the Chicago Bulls’ 106-102 preseason loss to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. The star shooting guard recorded 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and three 3-pointers on 52.6% shooting over the first three quarters (31 minutes). He also threw down a nasty one-handed dunk midway through the third.
After catching the ball off an inbound pass from teammate Ayo Dosunmu on the wing, LaVine immediately blew by Raptors two-way forward OG Anunoby. He then proceeded to drive straight to the rim, gliding through the air for an effortless jam.
Check out LaVine’s highlight dunk below:
Also Read: NBA Trade Machine: Can Sixers acquire Zach LaVine by trading James Harden in 3-team trade deal?
How has Zach LaVine fared in preseason so far?
Entering Tuesday’s game, Zach LaVine had played in two of the Bulls’ previous three preseason games.
In Chicago’s preseason opener, a 105-102 loss to Milwaukee, LaVine finished with nine points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal and one 3-pointer on 57.1% shooting. However, he only played 17 minutes.
In the Bulls’ 133-124 double overtime win over Denver on Thursday, LaVine fared much better. The star shooting guard recorded 17 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and one 3-pointer on 53.3% shooting in 23 minutes.
So, given his most recent performance against Toronto, it appears that LaVine is slowly ramping up his workload ahead of the start of the regular season. LaVine and the Bulls now have just one more home preseason game on Thursday, Oct. 19, against Minnesota. They will then kick off their regular season on Oct. 25 at home against OKC.
Entering the season, LaVine and the Bulls will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing 40-42 finish (10th in the Eastern Conference) in the 2022-23 season.
LaVine averaged 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.6 3-pointers per game on 48.5% shooting over 77 games last season.
Also Read: "I want to be like Mike!" - Michael Jordan gets special shoutout from $180 million rich Usher at latter's show