NBA Special: Lou Deng stars as the Chicago Bulls knock out the Toronto Raptors
Lou Deng led all scorers with 25 points and grabbed 4 assists, as the Chicago Bulls rolled to a 111-91 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors at United Center in Chicago. A cluster of 21290 basketball fans enjoyed the Bull’s team effort as they recorded
their fifth straight win and 14th in their last 16 games.
The Bulls had six players in double figures and shot 53 percent for the game. Derrick Rose, who looks rejuvenated with Bulls, finished with 19 points and six assists. Reserve Taj Gibson continued his mid-range shooting display, finishing with 16 points and
14 rebounds in the season’s 23rd victory of Bulls. Omer Asik had a career-high 13 points in the victory. Carlos Boozer contributed off the bench with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
While talking about the play of Taj Gibson and Omer Asik, Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said,
"They were monsters. Both had monster games and played great. Taj had a double-double in the first half. O came in the second half and was dunking everything. Everything he touched it seems like he was dunking the ball. It was great to watch, fun to watch."
Andrea was back and he made his presence felt as he scored 23 points for the Raptors after missing four games because of a sore left ankle. DeMar DeRozan had 18 points in the 23rd defeat of Toronto in the season. L. Barbosa contributed 15 points
and 5 assists in the defeat.
Game Story
This was an easy win for the Bulls. Each period for the Chicago displayed a different player stepping up on offense.
The Raptors trailed by 24 points early in the third quarter but fought back to within 10 points early in the fourth quarter before the Bulls took control again.
The first quarter saw Deng punish the Raptors with his mid-range jumper. Toronto rocked the court in the first quarter, mostly drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line. Chicago maintained a 29-27 lead, heading into the second.
The Bulls extended the rocking performance to the second stanza as they controlled every aspect of this one, limiting turnovers, making shots in the second quarter, and playing tenacious defence. Rose had a terrific 3-pointer and Gibson had a tip-in with
6.2 seconds remaining to give the Bulls a 59-41 lead at the intermission.
Trailing by 24 points early in the third quarter, the Raptors played well to make the score a respectable one. However, Toronto fought back to within 10 points early in the fourth quarter before the Bulls took control again. Chicago slowly began to build
their lead, taking a 81-69 lead into the final.
"Most times, games are close and they don't get a chance to play like this," "But in games like this, you see just how talented they are. You see how talented Taj is, you see how talented O is. The more time you get, the better you become. These guys
are stud players," Boozer said.
The Bulls kept the momentum going throughout the fourth quarter. Bargnani played well for Raptors as he made the first basket of the final stanza, cutting the lead to 10 points. Anyhow, the Bulls reserves quickly ballooned the lead back to 20 points in four
minutes and left no doubt on the scoreboard for rest of the period.
"We had a great practice yesterday, great preparation today and we played a great game," Boozer said.
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