Bulls outhustle Raptors for easy win
Derrick Rose had 23 points and Joakim Noah had a near triple-double as the Chicago Bulls easily took care of the Toronto Raptors 109-90 last night in a pre-season game in Chicago.
Apart from the play of Rose and Noah, the Bulls (2-2) also dominated the boards. In the end, they won the rebounding battle 44-22, pulling down twice as many rebounds as the Raptors (1-2).
"They were just much more aggressive than we were," Raptors coach Jay Triano said. "They worked harder than us and that was evident."
Noah had an impressive all-around game with 16 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists, a steal, and a block. In addition to Rose’s 23 points, he also posted five rebounds and seven assists.
They also got 13 points from Luol Deng.
New Raptor Leandro Barbosa finished with 20 points to lead his team in scoring.
Omer Asik, the 7ft centre out of Turkey, taking advantage of his newfound playing time with Carlos Boozer on the sidelines, finished with nine points, eight rebounds, and three blocked
shots.
"[Asik] does a lot of things that can help us win," Noah said. "You can't teach that size that he has. That's a big body and he can really move for a guy of his size."
The Bulls built a nine-point lead in the first quarter, where they shot 56 per cent from the field. Their lead ballooned to 21 in the second but Toronto finished on a 14-7 run to finish
the half, keeping the game within reach. The Raptors pulled to within 12 points when Barbosa hit a three-pointer
midway through the third but the Bulls finished the quarter on a 14-3 run. They entered the final quarter with the game firmly in hand at 81-58.
The Raptors have to be disappointed with the slow start of Andrea Bargnani, their versatile Italian centre. The top pick in the 2006 NBA Draft has made just five of 26 shots in three pre-season
games.
"Maybe [Bargnani] is getting his legs under him a little bit," Triano said. "Like I said before, it's not just Andrea. Everybody has got to pick up their level of intensity."
Triano said the amount of effort on display last night was not acceptable.
"We practiced harder than we played today," Triano said. "We just have to work harder and play with the intensity that's needed to win."
Bargnani finished with 10 points while Sonny Weems added 12. Amir Johnson chipped in with 10 points.
Noah played a total of 40 minutes last night, a lot of playing time for a key player during the pre-season.
"With Joakim, he's going to get his minutes at [centre]," said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. "I had anticipated that Bargnani would start. I wanted to get a look at him guarding a range-shooting
[big man]. He probably played a few more minutes than I would have liked."
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