DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, Zach LaVine added 23 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors 111-105 on Wednesday night.
Nikola Vucevic also scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, notching his fifth straight double-double and helping the Bulls win consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 7.
Gary Trent Jr. led the Raptors with 32 points, while OG Anunoby added 23 points. Toronto has lost six of its last nine games.
Trent scored 16 points in the third quarter, helping the Raptors trim their deficit to five. Anunoby hit a putback to bring Toronto within one in the fourth, eventually hammering home a dunk that gave the Raptors a 103-102 advantage with 3:11 remaining.
A LaVine layup and free throws from DeRozan pushed the Bulls back on top. Trent was then ejected after being called for his second technical foul of the game. LaVine hit the technical free throw and Vucevic followed with a 3-pointer that sealed the victory for Chicago.
DeRozan appeared to pick up two technical fouls in the final minutes of the third quarter. However, his first was deemed a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul for grabbing the net illegally while playing defense, which allowed him to stay in the game.
Chicago opened the game on a 14-2 run and didn鈥檛 miss a field goal attempt through the first six minutes. The Bulls finished the first quarter shooting 66.7% from the floor.
Toronto erased a 14-point deficit in the second, completing a 19-5 run punctuated by a Malachi Flynn 3-pointer and a driving layup from Chris Boucher. The Bulls bounced back thanks to a combined 18 second-quarter points from LaVine and DeRozan. Chicago outscored the Raptors 26-9 through the final six minutes of the quarter and carried a 67-50 advantage into halftime.
HITTING THE SMALL SCREEN
Raptors coach Nick Nurse confirmed he鈥檒l be making his acting debut next week in the CBC period crime drama 鈥淢urdoch Mysteries.鈥� The episode will air on Monday, and Nurse will appear as a locker room attendant in a basketball scene.
鈥淚t was a while back,鈥� Nurse said of when his appearance was filmed. 鈥淭hese people call me up and I say 鈥榮ure, let鈥檚 go check it out鈥� and just try to be coachable. It鈥檚 humbling, it鈥檚 fun and it鈥檚 an honor to be able to do some of that stuff.鈥�
Nurse鈥檚 cameo was teased via the show鈥檚 Instagram account on Wednesday afternoon.
鈥淗opefully you can catch it,鈥� Nurse said. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l have to let me know what your critique is of it.鈥�
TIP-INS:
Raptors: Toronto was outscored 68-46 in the paint. 鈥 Fred VanVleet (knee) warmed up before the game but was a last-minute injury scratch. He has missed the last two games for Toronto.
Bulls: F Derrick Jones Jr. (fractured finger) will be reevaluated in a week, but is not currently expected to need surgery. Jones fractured his finger Tuesday while working out at the team鈥檚 training facility and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. ... G Lonzo Ball is scheduled to have surgery on his left knee Friday morning.
UP NEXT:
Raptors: At Miami on Saturday.
Bulls: At San Antonio on Friday.
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Case:y Drottar, The Associated Press
