“If we don’t dot our Is and cross our Ts, we’re an average team.” – Raptors head coach Dwane Casey
No Pau Gasol, no Derrick Rose, no Mike Dunleavy, no Joakim Noah? No problem…for the Chicago Bulls that is.
The Chicago Bulls have become a team that simply has the Toronto Raptors’ number. Kyle Lowry said it best after the game: “In order for that to change, the next time we get to play them we have to beat them.” The Toronto Raptors have now lost to the Chicago Bulls for nine straight games, dating back to December 31st, 2013.
I’ve obviously fast forwarded to the end result, and although the Raptors battled back in the fourth quarter, on this night, it simply wasn’t enough.
Unfortunately for the Raptors, but fortunately for the Bulls, it was a case of deja vu. Doug McDermott, aka’Dougie McBuckets’, was unleashing his offensive arsenal on the Toronto defense once again. McDermott scored 29 points on 9-11 shooting including going four of five from three point range. E’Twaun Moore caught fire as well, and poured in an extremely efficient 17 points, on 8-11 shooting, while also adding four rebounds and four assists.
Jimmy Butler returned to action in this game, after visiting the world renowned Dr. James Andrews for additional feedback on his knee rehab & recovery, after hyperextending it leading up to the NBA All-Star break. Butler didn’t shoot the ball well, just 5-18, but he looked to get his teammates shots and contributed on the defensive end of the floor. Butler posted 13 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two blocks. Nikola Mirotic posted 17 points and five rebounds, and Taj Gibson earned a double-double, posting 13 points and ten rebounds, and also contributed three assists.
Jonas Valanciunas injured his previously broken left hand (courtesy of Kobe Bryant), and left for the remainder of the game at the behest of team doctors late in the first quarter. Post-game, Valanciunas indicated that his left hand was sore and that the doctors opted to keep him out as a precautionary measure. The x-rays on JV’s left hand did come back negative which is welcomed news heading towards the playoffs.
With Valanciunas finishing his night early (eight points, two boards, and one block), Bismack Biyombo and Jason Thompson stepped in to play the majority of minutes at center for the Raptors. Bismack ‘Big Business’ Biyombo finished with six points, six rebounds, and six blocked shots. Jason Thompson finished with seven points and four rebounds.
Offensively the Raptors played well and had excellent performances from their two All-Stars who combined for 60 points. Kyle Lowry had a near triple double scoring a game high 33 points (10-20 shoooting, 11 rebounds, seven assists, as well as three steals, and DeMar DeRozan finished with 27 points and five rebounds. Patrick Patterson had another impactful game helping to spark the Raptors off the bench, totaling 13 points (including three made three-point field goals) and six rebounds.
Defense was a different story for Toronto. Giving up 109 points to the Bulls, marking the eighth time in the Raptors’ last 14 games that they’ve allowed their opponent to score at least 105 points. Despite the Raptors winning games, they can not afford to allow teams to score at that clip once the post-season arrives.
In what was a crunch time moment, but became an entertaining one as well, Drake who was in attendance, sitting in his usual courtside seats next to the Raptors’ broadcast team, helped force the Chicago Bulls into a five-second violation while trying to inbound the ball on the sidelines. As you can see here, Drake managed to get the Bulls’ Justin Holiday unfocused, forcing him to hold on to the ball longer than expected forcing the turnover in the Raptors’ favour with 25.8 seconds remaining with the Bulls leading 106-103. The Raptors got within one point twice in the remaining time, but were never able to get the lead back over the final few possessions.
The Raptors have no time to reflect on the loss, as they play the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night which will be their second game on consecutive nights.
Postgame Reactions:
Dwane Casey
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85lHe6nWqWE]Jonas Valanciunas
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq2Kxdp8xXg]Kyle Lowry
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHnTOYbcDGs]DeMar DeRozan
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANgX3Wo4Ks]Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
