DeRozan has 26, Bulls beat Raptors for 4th straight win
TORONTO (AP) DeMar DeRozan took control in the fourth quarter, something he's done plenty of times in Toronto.
DeRozan scored 26 points against his former team, including 11 in the final period, Zach LaVine had 22 points and the Chicago Bulls opened a season with four straight wins for the first time since 1996-97, holding off the Toronto Raptors 111-108 on Monday night.
''DeMar obviously did a great job of closing the game out,'' Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
DeRozan scored four of Chicago's final five points as the Bulls survived a late Toronto challenge.
''You live for those moments, honestly,'' DeRozan said. ''I get up for those moments. I love them.''
Lonzo Ball said the Bulls have faith in DeRozan to deliver late in close games.
''He's been our go-to in the closing moments of games and he hasn't disappointed yet,'' Ball said. ''Tonight he put us on his back and carried the fourth quarter for us.''
Charlotte's overtime loss against Boston left the Bulls as the East's lone unbeaten team.
''It's great, but we've got a lot more basketball to go,'' DeRozan said. ''We've got to move on to the next game. We can't carry this record like it's some kind of badge of honor.''
Nikola Vucevic scored 17 points and Ball had 15 as the Bulls won their fourth straight meeting with Toronto. Ball shot 5 for 9 from 3-point range.
''They've got some prolific shot makers and they were making a few,'' Toronto coach Nick Nurse said.
OG Anunoby scored 22 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 18 as the struggling Raptors lost for the third time in four games.
Toronto's Fred VanVleet scored 15 points and set a career high with 17 assists. Precious Achiuwa had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, and rookie Scottie Barnes scored 13 points.
Chicago opened a 20-point lead less than three minutes into the second half and was up 97-86 with 7:57 left in the fourth, but Anunoby scored the final five points in a 9-0 Toronto run as the Raptors cut it to 97-95 with 4:49 to go.
DeRozan sandwiched jump shots around a pair of free throws from Alex Caruso as the Bulls answered with a 6-0 spurt to take a 103-95 lead with 3:27 to play.
Barnes scored off a Bulls turnover with 15 seconds left, cutting it to 110-108. Vucevic missed the first of two free throws, ending Chicago's streak of 20 consecutive makes, but hit the second to put the Bulls up by three. VanVleet missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer.
Six different Raptors made a 3-pointer in the second quarter, but Ball made three of his own as Chicago outscored Toronto 37-27 to lead 61-51 at halftime.
LaVine scored 13 points in the third as the Bulls took a 92-80 lead to the final quarter.
STRONG AT THE STRIPE
Chicago shot 21 for 22 at the free throw line, led by a 10-for-10 performance from DeRozan.
10-PLUS
Achiuwa posted his third straight double-double. He had three in 61 games with Miami as a rookie last season.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Troy Brown Jr. scored 11 points. ... Toronto's first-round pick in 2009, DeRozan played nine seasons with the Raptors and remains the team's leader in games (675), minutes (22,986) and points (13,296). He spent the most recent three seasons with San Antonio.
Raptors: Toronto turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, including five from VanVleet, and finished with a season-worst 21 turnovers, leading to 27 points for Chicago. VanVleet had a career-worst eight turnovers.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host New York on Thursday night.
Raptors: Host Indiana on Wednesday night.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Nikola Vucevic vs. Precious Achiuwa (Scottie Barnes gains possession) | ||
| 11:45 | | OG Anunoby turnover (bad pass) (Nikola Vucevic steals) | ||
| 11:37 |  | Zach LaVine misses three point step back jump shot | ||
| 11:33 | | Precious Achiuwa defensive rebound | ||
| 11:23 | | Precious Achiuwa misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 11:21 | | Zach LaVine defensive rebound | ||
| 11:14 | | Nikola Vucevic misses two point driving hook shot | ||
| 11:12 | | OG Anunoby defensive rebound | ||
| 10:57 | | +2 | Scottie Barnes makes two point floating jump shot (OG Anunoby assists) | 0-2 |
| 10:36 | | Patrick Williams misses two point jump shot | ||
| 10:33 | | Precious Achiuwa defensive rebound | ||
| 10:22 | | +3 | Gary Trent Jr. makes three point step back jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists) | 0-5 |
| 9:58 | | +3 | DeMar DeRozan makes three point jump shot (Zach LaVine assists) | 3-5 |
| 9:43 | | OG Anunoby misses two point finger roll layup | ||
| 9:43 | | Bulls defensive rebound | ||
| 9:36 | | +3 | Lonzo Ball makes three point jump shot (Zach LaVine assists) | 6-5 |
| 9:16 | | +2 | Gary Trent Jr. makes two point jump shot (OG Anunoby assists) | 6-7 |
| 9:03 | | Lonzo Ball misses two point jump shot | ||
| 9:00 | | Fred VanVleet defensive rebound | ||
| 8:56 | | Gary Trent Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:54 | | DeMar DeRozan defensive rebound | ||
| 8:47 | | DeMar DeRozan misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 8:43 | | Precious Achiuwa defensive rebound | ||
| 8:34 | | OG Anunoby misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:29 | | DeMar DeRozan defensive rebound | ||
| 8:18 | | Lonzo Ball misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:15 | | OG Anunoby defensive rebound | ||
| 8:04 | | +2 | Gary Trent Jr. makes two point step back jump shot (Precious Achiuwa assists) | 6-9 |
| 8:03 | | Bulls 60 second timeout | ||
| 7:51 | | +2 | Nikola Vucevic makes two point hook shot (Lonzo Ball assists) | 8-9 |
| 7:28 | | +2 | Precious Achiuwa makes two point turnaround hook shot (Fred VanVleet assists) | 8-11 |
| 7:11 | | DeMar DeRozan misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 7:09 | | Scottie Barnes defensive rebound | ||
| 7:05 | | Scottie Barnes turnover (bad pass) (Lonzo Ball steals) | ||
| 6:58 | | +2 | DeMar DeRozan makes two point jump shot | 10-11 |
| 6:58 | | Scottie Barnes shooting foul (DeMar DeRozan draws the foul) | ||
| 6:58 | | +1 | DeMar DeRozan makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 11-11 |
| 6:38 | | Precious Achiuwa misses two point alley-oop layup | ||
| 6:36 | | Fred VanVleet offensive rebound | ||
| 6:36 | | OG Anunoby misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:34 | | Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound | ||
| 6:28 | | DeMar DeRozan misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 6:25 | | Bulls offensive rebound | ||
| 6:19 | | Nikola Vucevic misses two point turnaround hook shot | ||
| 6:16 | | OG Anunoby defensive rebound | ||
| 6:09 | | Gary Trent Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:06 | | Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound | ||
| 5:56 | | DeMar DeRozan misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:52 | | Precious Achiuwa defensive rebound | ||
| 5:42 | | Precious Achiuwa misses two point alley-oop layup | ||
| 5:39 | | DeMar DeRozan defensive rebound | ||
| 5:25 | | Zach LaVine misses two point finger roll layup | ||
| 5:25 | | Raptors defensive rebound | ||
| 5:11 | | Fred VanVleet misses two point jump shot | ||
| 5:09 | | Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound | ||
| 5:01 | | Javonte Green misses two point finger roll layup | ||
| 4:56 | | Nikola Vucevic offensive rebound | ||
| 4:56 | | +2 | Nikola Vucevic makes two point putback layup | 13-11 |
| 4:36 | | Fred VanVleet turnover (out of bounds step) | ||
| 4:18 | | Troy Brown Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:15 | | Raptors defensive rebound | ||
| 4:04 | | OG Anunoby misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:04 | | Scottie Barnes offensive rebound | ||
| 3:52 | | +3 | OG Anunoby makes three point jump shot (Svi Mykhailiuk assists) | 13-14 |
| 3:35 | | Zach LaVine turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 3:21 | | +2 | Khem Birch makes two point layup (OG Anunoby assists) | 13-16 |
| 3:12 | | Zach LaVine misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:12 | | Troy Brown Jr. offensive rebound | ||
| 3:05 | | OG Anunoby personal foul (Troy Brown Jr. draws the foul) | ||
| 2:52 | | +2 | Alize Johnson makes two point hook shot | 15-16 |
| 2:43 | | Alex Caruso shooting foul (Goran Dragic draws the foul) | ||
| 2:43 | | Raptors 60 second timeout | ||
| 2:43 | | +1 | Goran Dragic makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 15-17 |
| 2:43 | | +1 | Goran Dragic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 15-18 |
| 2:24 | | Alex Caruso misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 2:19 | | Troy Brown Jr. offensive rebound | ||
| 2:19 | | +2 | Troy Brown Jr. makes two point putback layup | 17-18 |
| 2:06 | | +2 | Khem Birch makes two point floating jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists) | 17-20 |
| 1:53 | | Goran Dragic shooting foul (Javonte Green draws the foul) | ||
| 1:53 | | +1 | Javonte Green makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 18-20 |
| 1:53 | | +1 | Javonte Green makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 19-20 |
| 1:38 | | Fred VanVleet misses two point finger roll layup | ||
| 1:35 | | Javonte Green defensive rebound | ||
| 1:27 | | Svi Mykhailiuk shooting foul (DeMar DeRozan draws the foul) | ||
| 1:27 | | +1 | DeMar DeRozan makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 20-20 |
| 1:27 | | +1 | DeMar DeRozan makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 21-20 |
| 1:08 | | +2 | Khem Birch makes two point hook shot (Fred VanVleet assists) | 21-22 |
| 0:44 | | Alex Caruso turnover (lost ball) (Fred VanVleet steals) | ||
| 0:39 | | Goran Dragic misses two point layup | ||
| 0:37 | | Javonte Green defensive rebound | ||
| 0:32 | | +3 | DeMar DeRozan makes three point jump shot (Alex Caruso assists) | 24-22 |
| 0:22 | | +2 | Scottie Barnes makes two point driving layup (Fred VanVleet assists) | 24-24 |
| 0:00 | | Troy Brown Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:00 | | Svi Mykhailiuk defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:44 | | Nikola Vucevic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:41 | | Fred VanVleet defensive rebound | ||
| 11:35 | | +2 | Scottie Barnes makes two point step back jump shot | 24-26 |
| 11:19 | | +2 | Nikola Vucevic makes two point jump shot (DeMar DeRozan assists) | 26-26 |
| 10:57 | | Fred VanVleet turnover (bad pass) (Alex Caruso steals) | ||
| 10:53 | | +3 | Lonzo Ball makes three point jump shot | 29-26 |
| 10:33 | | Goran Dragic misses two point layup | ||
| 10:31 | | Svi Mykhailiuk offensive rebound | ||
| 10:27 | | Goran Dragic misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:27 | | Javonte Green defensive rebound | ||
| 10:12 | | +3 | Alex Caruso makes three point jump shot (DeMar DeRozan assists) | 32-26 |
| 9:54 | | +3 | Svi Mykhailiuk makes three point jump shot (Khem Birch assists) | 32-29 |
| 9:35 | | Lonzo Ball turnover (bad pass) (Goran Dragic steals) | ||
| 9:30 | | Khem Birch misses two point finger roll layup | ||
| 9:28 | | Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound | ||
| 9:17 | | DeMar DeRozan misses two point jump shot | ||
| 9:15 | | Khem Birch defensive rebound | ||
| 9:04 | | DeMar DeRozan personal foul (OG Anunoby draws the foul) | ||
| 8:52 | | +2 | Gary Trent Jr. makes two point step back jump shot | 32-31 |
| 8:35 | | +2 | Patrick Williams makes two point floating jump shot (Lonzo Ball assists) | 34-31 |
| 8:18 | | Fred VanVleet turnover (bad pass) (Nikola Vucevic steals) | ||
| 8:13 | | +2 | Troy Brown Jr. makes two point finger roll layup (Patrick Williams assists) | 36-31 |
| 7:48 | | +2 | OG Anunoby makes two point finger roll layup (Fred VanVleet assists) | 36-33 |
| 7:34 | | +2 | Nikola Vucevic makes two point jump shot (DeMar DeRozan assists) | 38-33 |
| 7:17 | | +3 | Precious Achiuwa makes three point jump shot (OG Anunoby assists) | 38-36 |
| 7:05 | | +2 | Patrick Williams makes two point layup (Lonzo Ball assists) | 40-36 |
| 6:53 | | Svi Mykhailiuk turnover (traveling) | ||
| 6:53 | | Raptors 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:40 | | Troy Brown Jr. misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 6:38 | | Chris Boucher defensive rebound | ||
| 6:21 | | +3 | Chris Boucher makes three point jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists) | 40-39 |
| 6:03 | | +3 | Lonzo Ball makes three point jump shot (Troy Brown Jr. assists) | 43-39 |
| 5:51 | | Fred VanVleet turnover (bad pass) (Lonzo Ball steals) | ||
| 5:47 | | Lonzo Ball misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:43 | | Chris Boucher defensive rebound | ||
| 5:31 | | Gary Trent Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:28 | | Alize Johnson defensive rebound | ||
| 5:21 | | OG Anunoby shooting foul (Zach LaVine draws the foul) | ||
| 5:21 | | +1 | Zach LaVine makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 44-39 |
| 5:21 | | +1 | Zach LaVine makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 45-39 |
| 5:07 | | Precious Achiuwa turnover (traveling) | ||
| 4:45 | | Zach LaVine misses three point step back jump shot | ||
| 4:42 | | Alize Johnson offensive rebound | ||
| 4:40 | | +2 | Alize Johnson makes two point putback layup | 47-39 |
| 4:23 | | Alize Johnson shooting foul (Precious Achiuwa draws the foul) | ||
| 4:23 | | +1 | Precious Achiuwa makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 47-40 |
| 4:23 | | Precious Achiuwa misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 4:20 | | Zach LaVine defensive rebound | ||
| 4:12 | | +2 | Nikola Vucevic makes two point jump shot (Zach LaVine assists) | 49-40 |
| 3:51 | | Scottie Barnes turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 3:30 | | DeMar DeRozan misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 3:27 | | Precious Achiuwa defensive rebound | ||
| 3:26 | | +2 | OG Anunoby makes two point dunk (Precious Achiuwa assists) | 49-42 |
| 3:26 | | Bulls 60 second timeout | ||
| 3:15 | | Nikola Vucevic misses two point turnaround hook shot | ||
| 3:12 | | Precious Achiuwa defensive rebound | ||
| 3:06 | | +3 | OG Anunoby makes three point jump shot (Fred VanVleet assists) | 49-45 |
| 2:48 | | Nikola Vucevic misses two point jump shot | ||
| 2:45 | | Scottie Barnes defensive rebound | ||
| 2:41 | | Gary Trent Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:38 | | Zach LaVine defensive rebound | ||
| 2:28 | | +3 | Lonzo Ball makes three point jump shot (DeMar DeRozan assists) | 52-45 |
| 2:13 | | +3 | Fred VanVleet makes three point jump shot (Gary Trent Jr. assists) | 52-48 |
| 1:48 | | +2 | Nikola Vucevic makes two point fadeaway jump shot | 54-48 |
| 1:33 | | +3 | Gary Trent Jr. makes three point jump shot (OG Anunoby assists) | 54-51 |
| 1:24 | | OG Anunoby personal foul (DeMar DeRozan draws the foul) | ||
| 1:17 | | Chris Boucher shooting foul (Zach LaVine draws the foul) | ||
| 1:17 | | +1 | Zach LaVine makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 55-51 |
| 1:17 | | +1 | Zach LaVine makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 56-51 |
| 1:03 | | Gary Trent Jr. misses two point jump shot | ||
| 1:03 | | Chris Boucher offensive rebound | ||
| 1:04 | | Alex Caruso personal foul (Chris Boucher draws the foul) | ||
| 0:56 | | Fred VanVleet turnover (bad pass) (Alex Caruso steals) | ||
| 0:48 | | +2 | Alex Caruso makes two point reverse layup (DeMar DeRozan assists) | 58-51 |
| 0:48 | | Gary Trent Jr. shooting foul (Alex Caruso draws the foul) | ||
| 0:48 |