Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan help Toronto Raptors beat Chicago Bulls 118-113
Versatile Chicago Bulls centre Joakim Noah made his long-awaited return to the court, but was unable to prevent his side from slumping to a 118-113 loss to the Toronto Raptors, at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night.
The 26-year-old Noah was frustrated after the defeat but was determined to keep fighting. He told reporters, "It is definitely not the result I wanted but we have just got to keep fighting. We have got to come with a better edge.”
Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan each scored 24 points for the Raptors, who managed to snap a two-game losing streak. Toronto were also boosted by good performances from Jose Calderon, who had 17 assists, and 17 points from Amir Johnson. The result gave
the Raptors their first win over the Bulls in three meetings during the 2010-11 season.
Leandro Barbosa scored 13 points while Sonny Weems finished with 12 points for the Raptors, who have won just two of their last 20 games. Derrick Rose had a game-high 32 points and 10 assists for Chicago, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped.
Carlos Boozer also came off the bench with 24 points while Luol Deng ended with 19 points for the Bulls, who lost their 13th road game of the season. Noah returned after missing 30 games of the season. He contributed seven points and had 16 rebounds
in 24 minutes on the court.
Match Analysis
The Bulls took command of the contest in the opening quarter with a 7-2 run. Toronto regained their shooting touch midway through the quarter to tie the game at 11-11. Weems then broke the deadlock with a jump shot to give the Raptors a two-point edge. However,
Chicago then played offensively to take a 29-25 lead into the second.
Both teams started strongly in the second quarter but Chicago managed to make it to the free throw line consistently, taking a 58-55 lead into the locker room. The Raptors did not play well offensively in the first half, but once again, they found a way
back in the third quarter. Toronto went on a 9-4 run and slowly built up an 85-81 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Bulls scored the three opening baskets of the fourth quarter to make it a one-point contest at 86-85, but Bargnani hit a pair of free throws to put the Raptors ahead by 92-90. Ronnie Brewer then missed a free throw for Chicago, which would have tied
the game at 92 with eight and a half minutes left.
Barbosa stayed hot during the fourth as his three-point play gave Toronto a seven-point lead for good. However, Rose made four straight free throws to tie the game at 107 for the second time with two minutes left to play. The Raptors went on an 11-6 run
to seal their 16th win of the season.
Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau was critical of his players after the game. He said, “What didn't(bother me)?" Every aspect. Start with defensive transition, keeping the ball out of the paint, challenging shots. Every aspect of our defence went out the window.
Offensively we scored more, but defensively it was a disaster."
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