DeMar DeRozan helps Bulls outlast Scottie Barnes, Raptors

Field Level Media|published: Thu 18th January, 22:14 2024

Jan 18, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) controls the ball as Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) tries to defend during the second quarter at Scotiabank Arena. credits: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

DeMar DeRozan had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists and the visiting Chicago Bulls defeated the Toronto Raptors 116-110 Thursday night.

Nikola Vucevic added 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls. Coby White had 23 points and eight rebounds, Patrick Williams added 12 points and Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 10.

Scottie Barnes finished with 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists and RJ Barrett added 17 points and six assists for the Raptors, who are 1-1 in their first two games since trading Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

Bruce Brown, who came to Toronto in that trade, scored 15 points in his Raptors debut. Immanuel Quickley scored 12 points and Jontay Porter had 10.

Chicago's Zach LaVine left the game early in the third quarter and went to the locker room with an apparent ankle injury. He returned to the bench a few minutes later. He had eight points.

Chicago took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Barrett's dunk gave Toronto a one-point lead with 8:54 left in the fourth. The lead changed hands throughout the period until White's jumper gave Chicago a 110-109 lead with 2:08 to play. DeRozan added an 11-footer and made two free throws give Chicago a four-point lead with 55 seconds remaining. White's jumper bumped the final margin to six.

The Bulls outshot the Raptors 52.7 percent to 50.6 percent from the floor despite making only 6 of 24 3-pointers on the night.

Chicago led 38-27 after the first quarter.

Brown scored his first two points with his new team with 8:31 left in the second quarter to cut Chicago's lead to four. Toronto tied the game at 50 on Thaddeus Young's dunk with 4:18 remaining.

Barrett's 3-pointer gave Toronto a 58-57 lead with 1:37 to play in the first half, but the Bulls scored the next six points to lead by five at halftime.

The Bulls led by 12 points after White's layup with 4:14 left in the third quarter. Barnes rolled in a layup to trim the margin to 90-86 after three quarters.

Jakob Poeltl (ankle) did not play for Toronto.

—Field Level Media

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