Raptors 99, Bullls 77
CHICAGO -- Toronto continued to share the ball well with a new lineup. The Raptors piled up a season-high 26 assists and rolled to a 99-77 over Chicago on Saturday at United Center.
Guard Kyle Lowry led five players in double figures with 16 points. Forward DeMar DeRozan and center Jonas Valanciunas scored 15 each, while forward Amir Johnson added 14.
Toronto is 3-1 since trading high-scoring forward Rudy Gay to Sacramento. The Bulls are 3-9 since losing guard Derrick Rose to knee surgery.
Forward Luol Deng led the Bulls with 17 points in his return from four games off with a sore left Achilles, but he scored just two points in the second half. Forward Mike Dunleavy added 14 points, while center Joakim Noah produced 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Playing without injured point guard Kirk Hinrich, the Bulls got seven points and three assists from his replacement, Marquis Teague. Chicago shot 36 percent from the field (31 of 86).
The Raptors (9-13) jumped to an early 10-4 lead and never gave it up. The advantage reached 57-41 after Toronto scored the first six points of the third quarter.
The Bulls (9-13) chipped away and finally made up some ground when Teague banked in a 3-pointer. Then guard D.J. Augustin knocked down his first basket since joining the Bulls, a 3-pointer that brought Chicago within 73-69 with 11:23 left in the fourth quarter.
Toronto answered with a 6-0 run. DeRozan hit a jumper, forward Tyler Hansbrough finished a driving scoop and Greivis Vasquez hit two free throws to make it 79-69 with 9:55 left. The Raptors continued to pull away down the stretch.
Both coaches received technical fouls for arguing calls, Chicago's Tom Thibodeau in the second quarter and Toronto's Dwane Casey in the third.
NOTES: The lineup continued to change for Chicago. F Luol Deng returned after missing four games with a sore left Achilles tendon, but G Kirk Hinrich sat out with a sore back. "It stiffened up on him," coach Tom Thibodeau said before the game. "Hopefully it won't be anything that lasts long." Thibodeau started second-year G Marquis Teague in Hinrich's place. Teague didn't play at all on Friday against Milwaukee, as newcomer G D.J. Augustin stepped into the backup point guard role. ... A theme for the Raptors has been better ball movement since trading F Rudy Gay to Sacramento. Toronto matched a season-high with 24 assists in Friday's win over Philadelphia, while G DeMar DeRozan averaged six assists in the last three games. ... According to Elias Sports Bureau, Bulls C Mike Dunleavy's 3-point bank shot to beat Milwaukee on Friday was just the second time in his career he had scored a game-winning basket with under 10 seconds remaining. The other was a tip-in at the buzzer for Indiana in 2010.
