National Basketball Association
Toronto 85, Chicago 79
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Officials:
#71 Rodney Mott, #60 James Williams, #16 David Guthrie
Attendance:
21507
By SportsDirect Inc.
Raptors 85, Bulls 79: Jonas Valanciunas led a balanced attack with 15 points and nine rebounds and visiting Toronto used a big fourth-quarter run to subdue Chicago.
Seven players finished with eight or more points as the Raptors ended 2013 with eight wins in 11 games. Kyle Lowry had 13 points, DeMar DeRozan added 11 and Patrick Patterson 10 for the Atlantic Division leaders.
Luol Deng's 16 points paced the Bulls, who have dropped 11 of their last 16. Jimmy Butler poured in 15 points while Joakim Noah contributed seven points, 16 rebounds and six assists in a losing cause.
DeRozan's seven points represented the lone bright spot in a rough first quarter that saw Toronto escape with a 21-16 advantage. Chicago rallied to take the lead on D.J. Augustin's driving layup early in the second - part of a 16-2 run spanning the opening six minutes of the quarter - and the Bulls rode that surge to a 42-36 halftime edge.
Toronto kept Chicago from distancing itself in the second half, riding six points from Lowry to a 62-57 deficit after three. The Raptors then blew the game wide open in the fourth, getting seven points from Greivis Vasquez and eight from Patterson to fuel a 21-4 run that put them ahead by double digits with 4:47 left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Deng returned after missing the previous five games with an Achilles injury. ... The teams combined to miss 16 of their first 20 shots. ... Augustin had six points in 20 minutes against the team that waived him earlier this month.
Top Game Performances
| Toronto |
|
Chicago |
|
Jonas Valanciunas 15 |
Scoring |
Luol Deng 16 |
|
Kyle Lowry 6 |
Assists |
Joakim Noah 6 |
|
Jonas Valanciunas 10 |
Rebounds |
Joakim Noah 16 |
|
Amir Johnson 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Jimmy Butler 4 |
|
Kyle Lowry 2 |
Steals |
Jimmy Butler 2 |
|
Jonas Valanciunas 2 |
Blocks |
Jimmy Butler 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Toronto
|
85 |
42.0 |
4-14 |
23-31 |
16 |
44 |
6 |
5 |
15 |
| Chicago
|
79 |
36.6 |
2-9 |
17-21 |
17 |
45 |
4 |
5 |
15 |
Upcoming Games
-
Chicago will play their next game at home against Boston. The Bulls have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
-
Toronto will play their next game at home against Indiana. The Raptors have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
For more information, contact us