Despite trailing by 10 points at halftime and by as many as 16 points in parts of the game, the Raptors came back in the second half to beat the Chicago Bulls on the road.
Heading into tonight’s game in Chicago, the Raptors are riding a five-game losing streak, their second in a six-game road trip. With a 6-17 record on the road this season, all signs pointed to another loss for the Raptors when it was announced that Jacob Poeltl, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley were waived. Toronto enters tonight’s game 1-9 due to Poeltl’s ankle injury and a lack of size, ball and cornerbacks. With both Barrett and Quickley out, it’s clear who will step up on offense as the team looks to snap a losing streak.
Toronto opened the scoring with a shot by Bruce Brown after Gary Trent Jr., who was eager to start the game, missed a flyout. The guard led the team with 13 points in the first quarter alone, knocking down three 3-pointers and adding two mid-range jumpers. Another hot item is DeMar DeRozan. The former Raptor had a shutout and assisted on all three of the Bulls’ first three baskets in the first two minutes of the game. Junior Trent Brown was the only Raptors scorer until midway through the quarter when Dennis Schroeder hit a layup and a free throw for a 15-10 lead.Dalen Terry was called for a drive on the next possession as it looked like the Raptors were going to take it, but a Brown turnover allowed the Bulls to tie. Scotty Barnes’ first point of the night broke up Trent Jr.’s goal. The lead grew to five more points.In the final five minutes of the opening frame, Chicago rallied from a narrow deficit to take a 16-7 lead. Chicago led 31-27, but only three field goals came from beyond the arc. Protecting the paint was a major issue for Toronto in the early days. Especially when backup Jontay Porter left the game midway through the quarter with back spasms.
The Bulls scored the first six points before a Jordan Nwora layup to extend the scoring in the second quarter. The newly acquired forward scored a goal for Toronto in their last win over Atlanta and will heat up as this game progresses. Both teams traded baskets and Chris Boucher hit a 3 for his first points of the night and Nwora added a 3 of his own to cut the Bulls lead to seven points.The two teams battled for about 4 minutes, with Chicago holding a 7-point lead. Grady Dick was fouled and sent Caruso to the line, and the two free throws set the stage for the Bulls’ nine-point run.Trent Jr. is now 16 years old. Schroeder and Jalen McDaniels each added a basket to make it 8-0. Chicago added a couple more drives to the free throw line, while Barnes added a layup to go into halftime with the Bulls’ lead at 63-53. Despite being on the road, Toronto took the lead and the first half ended with a change in momentum and feeling in the stadium.
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