The streak is over.
The Chicago Bulls came to town Friday and cooled off the red hot Raptors, taking control in the third quarter on the way to a 122-106 win.
A defence that had been dominating the NBA found few answers for the Bulls outside of the first 12 minutes, and was punished from three-point range and by big men Nikola Vucevic and Jalen Smith inside. Smith had a season-high 17 points, Vucevic had 21 and guard Coby White led the Bulls with 25. The team shot nearly 50% from the floor for the game.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 20 points, RJ Barrett added 19 but the Raptors barely shot 40% and hit fewer than half as many three-pointers as the Bulls.
Toronto got starting guards Immanuel Quickley and Gradey Dick back and had won five straight for the first time in several seasons and Chicago had dropped 8-of-10 and was without top scorer Zach LaVine. But the Bulls boast some talent and did recently beat Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers in impressive fashion.
Trade talk has swirled around the team. LaVine, centre Vucevic and forward Patrick Williams have been involved in plenty of rumours and Lonzo Ball, an impending free agent, has reestablished his value after years lost due to injuries.
Chicago is in a delicate situation having missed the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons. Its first-round draft pick will head to San Antonio if it doesn’t land in the Top 10. The Bulls entered Friday with the NBA’s ninth-worst record. Ownership has never really allowed a rebuild, so Chicago has been hanging around the middle as a non-factor for years now.
Toronto doesn’t want to be in that situation much longer. Another win would have put them just 3.5 games behind Chicago for the final play-in spot in the East. Coincidentally or not, Toronto did not play veterans Chris Boucher or Kelly Olynyk, who had both been playing great basketball lately (Olynyk had missed the previous three games due to injury but was cleared to suit up).
Quickley returned after an eight-game absence and immediately made an impact, scoring Toronto’s first five points of the game. He led the team with 13 in the first half, though Toronto trailed 55-50. Quickley, who was under a minutes restriction, only scored one point in the third and only played 15 minutes in all. Chicago used an 18-4 run to seize command of the game. The visitors led 88-74 and held Toronto to 39.4% shooting through three quarters.
The Raptors had been in front 30-27 and did not commit a turnover in the first, blocked four shots and had two steals, but the defence didn’t carry over from there.
This starting lineup, the team’s preferred first group, dropped to 0-5 on the season. Dick struggled, starting just 2-for-8 from the field before scoring some points late.
The Raptors will hold a special fan day on Saturday, followed by a rare return appearance by Kawhi Leonard, with his Los Angeles Clippers in town.