Raptors 114, Bulls 94
…because Jose sank some shots.
Jose made his return, A.P. moved back into the shooting guard slot and J.O was ready to showcase for Pat Riley as the Raps were ready to get revenge on the Bulls last night. And guess what? The Raps didn’t blow it. They actually ended their 7 game losing streak, finishing off the Bulls 114-94. The Raps actually fixed some of their mistakes and played some good D. Jose Calderon didn’t show any signs of rust.
The game started and my girlfriend got a glimpse of Bulls coach, Vinny Del Negro and was like “Is that Luke Wilson?” I’ve never seen the resemblance until she mentioned it.
Derrick Rose is too freaking quick, he just blew by the Raps for easy layups. Jose came out strong passing the ball to get everyone good shots and he nailed his jumpers, I mean all of them. The Raps looked so much better without Roko/Solomon running the point. Joey Graham had a nice jam to get the Raps an early lead 24-17. Tyrus Thomas then had a block on Chris Bosh and then just posterized Jermaine O’Neal.
Good showcasing J.O., we’re never going to get Marion.
Raps shot 66% from the field and the Raps led 28-25 after the first.
The Raps continued to have good ball movement. Jose continued to look good as he found Jason Kapono for the three to get up 34-27 on the Bulls. Bulls made a run, Nocioni nailed a three to get within three. Bulls outscored the Raps 31-26, as the score was knotted at 54 at the half.
The Raps looked like Raps’ past opponents in the third. This time around, it was the Bulls falling apart and not the Raps. Bargs and Jose were nailing shots as the Raps went on 15-1 run. Jose Calderon was perfect from the floor going 6 for 6. Bargs hit another three to get the Raps a 10 point lead. Nocioni nailed a three to end the run and then Bulls went on an 8-0 run to get within four. Raps up 83-74 after three.
The wheels started to fall off for the Raps again in the fourth. Ben Gordon nailed a J to get it to a five point game and then the Bulls went on a 16-6 run to get within one. Derrick Rose who scored 17 in the fourth at the last game, was non-apparent in the fourth and sat most of the quarter. Anthony Parker came up big, nailing his corner threes to build the Raps lead, as the Raps went on another run getting back up to ten. Jose was clutch in this game, going 8 for 9 from the field as the Raps finished off the Bulls on a 23-4 run.
Key Notes:
Jose Calderon was unstoppable in his return: 23 points, 10 assists, 0 turnovers, 9-10 from the floor in 29 minutes of action
Bargs had 22 pts, 5 assists
Joey Graham had 16 points
The Bulls had 23 turnovers
Kirk Hinrich had 17 pts, 5 rebounds and 7 assist off of the bench for the Bulls
Raps shot 56% from the floor
Raps are home against Sacamento on Sunday
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