The Bulls take on the Raptors
After five consecutive defeats, barely two wins, the Chicago Bulls suffered another three consecutive losses, and the team's state can be described as very bad. DeRozan failed to continue his previous personal performances, and Lonzo Ball was delayed, and neither the team's offense nor defense could be the key to victory. In this case, the Bulls fell from the previous first place in the East to the current fifth place in the East, just 1.5 wins ahead of the Toronto Raptors, who are seventh in the East, and this game, the two teams just happened to meet.
As long as the Toronto Raptors win this game, they can directly close the gap of 1 win with the Bulls, which also means that their hopes of getting out of the playoffs are greatly improved. For the Raptors, the importance of this game is self-evident. DeRozan will not be soft in the face of the old lord, the old lord who traded himself mercilessly in the past.
DeRozan faces the old lord
DeRozan's rare start was fiery, with 4-of-4 shooting, all two-pointers, 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in a single quarter, and full horsepower on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends. Under DeRozan's leadership, the Bulls, who played at home, exploded for 30 points in the first quarter, while the Toronto Raptors only scored 24 points, including Siakam with 8 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, and VanVleet with 8 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists. After returning from the second quarter, DeRozan shot 2-of-3, made two three-point shots, and had 5 points and 1 rebound, while the Bulls only scored 24 points for the team.
The Raptors seized the opportunity, Van Jordan delivered five assists in a single quarter, Siakam scored another 8 points, and the Raptors blasted down 31 points in a single quarter, successfully surpassing the Bulls by one point at the end of the half. In the second half, the Raptors fell into a scoring drought, only getting 18 points in this quarter, while the Bulls' LaVine, 6 of 8 shots, 3 of 3 shots and 2 of 3 points, had 16 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Under Lavine, the Bulls regained an 11-point lead, with only one leg left in the game, and even so, the Raptors would not give up.
The Raptors are constantly chasing in the final quarter, but don't forget, DeRozan has a nickname this season, called the King of the Last Quarter. With 3 of 4 shots, 3 of 3 of 2-pointers, and 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block in a single quarter, DeRozan always helped the team and maintained a 10-point lead. In the end, the Chicago Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors 113-99, successfully ending a three-game losing streak.
The Bulls ended a 3-game losing streak
DeRozan successfully bladed the old master, and after the whole game, DeRozan shot 11 of 14, including 1 of 4 three-pointers, and had 26 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 blocks. This also means that DeRozan's two-point shot, 10 of 10 shots, know that in this game, DeRozan only has one shot under the basket, and the rest are in the middle and long distance. As can be seen from this, DeRozan is definitely the deserved king of active duty. LaVine also had 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, plus-minus +19 for the team, and Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Caruso started the game, got 7 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists, did not make a single mistake, and had to say that as long as he was on the floor, he could help the team, which the data could not reflect. On the Raptors side, Siakam had 22 points, five rebounds and four assists, VanVleet had 19 points, six rebounds and nine assists, and Boucher on the bench also had a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. After losing this game, the Raptors are only two wins ahead of the Nets.