Bulls 77, Raptors 64
Derrick Rose had 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls remained dominant at home, silencing the Toronto Raptors 77-64 Saturday night.
Carlos Boozer added 17 points and 13 rebounds and Luol Deng poured in 14 points for the Bulls, who have won five straight home games to open the season and have yet to allow more than 74 points in any of them. Opposing teams are averaging just 66.8 points per game in Chicago.
The teams played a low-scoring opening half, and that trend continued into the third quarter. The Raptors stayed close until late in the period, when Rose knocked down a 3-pointer and Deng added an eight-footer to open up a seven-point Chicago advantage.
Toronto closed it to 56-52 entering the fourth, but the Bulls responded by scoring the first seven points of the quarter to put the game away.
DeMar DeRozan and Leandro Barbosa led the way with 15 points apiece for the Raptors, who played their second straight game without leading scorer Andrea Bargnani (strained calf).
Chicago wasted no time attacking the Raptors and were rewarded with a 21-8 first-quarter lead. Toronto clawed back over the course of the second quarter, relying on eight bench points from Barbosa to forge a 37-37 tie at the half.
Toronto's bench outscored Chicago's reserves 25-4 in the first half. The Bulls' bench players shot just 2 for 8 in the opening 24 minutes.