The Bulls secured a 122-113 victory over the Toronto Raptors, who were badly cut, on Thursday night.
It raises the Bulls’ current winning streak after three games, making a season-high two-time tie.
Here are 17 observations:
1. The Raptors have only eight players available for this one due to a combination of injuries, entries for health and safety protocols and suspensions stemming from an altercation during their game Tuesday night with the Los Angeles Lakers.
2. Ironically, this match was a compilation for a showdown between these two teams originally scheduled for February 28, which had to push back because the Raptors could not play eight players at the time due to a combination of positive COVID-19 Tests and locate contact.
3. The Bulls started listlessly and missed their first seven attempts at field goals, falling 16-7 behind. But they responded to leave the Raptors 26-11 in the final seven minutes of the quarter with 19 combined points from Zach LaVine (11 points in eight minutes) and Nikola Vučević (8 points).
4. The good times did not stop there. Between the 6:56 mark of the first quarter and halftime, the Bulls scored 57 points on 21-for-34 shooting (61.8 percent). The Raptors, on the other hand, scored 45 points on 13-for-41 shooting (31.7 percent) over the same team. At halftime, the Bulls led 64-51.
5. The Bulls designed separate runs of 19-3 and 15-0 in this series. Regardless of the opponent, they are on the win the side of such tracks is noticeable after being on the wrong side early in the season.
6. Lauri Markkanen and Coby White kept exactly where they left off after productive outings against the Pacers. Markkanen scored 9 points on 4-for-5 shooting and pulled 3 rebounds in the first half; White threw in 10 points and buried two of his four three-point attempts. Late in the third quarter, the two together scored eight consecutive Bulls points to prevent a Raptors boom. Markkanen finished 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting (2-for-4 from 3-point range; his offensive play has offered more management and post-ups lately). White scored 15 points and three 3s, though he also committed four turnovers, some of which were unsightly.
Both got their lumps over the course of this season, but if they can bring this type of spark on the night of the pines, it will be very valuable.
7. The Bulls led to the – reduced – Raptors in the bench who scored 27-3 in the half behind the 19 points of Markkanen and White, plus 8 points and 7 rebounds of Daniel Theis, who returned after one for personal reasons. match missed. The difference in the reserve score ended 47-20, with Markkanen, White and Theis (14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assistants) scoring their highest points since the deadline.
8. Vučević scored 12 of his 22 points in the third quarter and finished with a fairly comfortable 22 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, shooting 3-for-6 from distance – if it is possible to place such a statline comfortably .
9. But Pascal Siakam, who finished with 27 points on 17 shots, gave Vučević some trouble on the switches. Siakam’s 11 third quarter points helped the Raptors hang around longer than it seemed.
10. Chris Boucher was also a problem. The impossible stretchable fourth-year center scored 38 points and 19 rebounds – both careers. He had some scary pieces in the second half that threatened the Bulls ’advantage and shot 3-for-7 from behind the arc.
11. LaVine picked up a Bulls career high of 13 assistants and finished with a striking +20 plus or minus. He scored his 22 points – seven in the second half – on 8-for-16 shooting (2-for-8 from deep), but his impact is felt. And believe him when he says he is willing to sacrifice individual stats to win.
12. The Raptors reduced the deficit to as few as seven late in the fourth quarter. A handful of tense offensive possessions followed, but LaVine eventually shifted the lead back to nine with a difficult setup with 87 seconds to play, and then a three-point dagger to go up 12 moments later – even on a shooting night until that time. point.
13. Donovan turned the last minute-and-a-half to Theis in place of Vučević in the starting line-up, presumably for the flexibility to switch defensively. Theis pulled off a seismic defensive rebound to give him his first double as a bull in the final seconds.
14. Troy Brown Jr. switched on again in the rotation and scored 14 minutes. Denzel Valentine and Ryan Arcidiacono have meanwhile registered DNPs. Donovan ran Markkanen, White and Theis between 18 and 27 minutes apiece, which turned about 8.5 men. Maybe an indication of how much these games mean for the Bulls, and Donovan regularly arranged.
15. The Bulls have now played 26 or more cents in eight games with 35 assists. This is their 11th 30-assist game of the season, in which they are now 7-4. Every Bull that plays, except for Brown, scores at least nine points, though 16 turnovers is a bit much.
16. Garrett Temple misses his fifth consecutive game with a thigh muscle. Donovan did not have a timeline for his return before the point and said Temple experienced an “inconvenience” trying to make a straight line last week.
17. With the win, the Bulls clinch their season series with the Raptors and advance two games to the tenth seed in the East, last place in the playoffs. They follow the Indiana Pacers, who they have also have already won their season series against, with 1.5 games for the ninth.
Next for the Bulls: Friday in the Atlanta Hawks.
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