Bulls 115, Raptors 113
TORONTO -- Shooting guard Jimmy Butler scored 40 of his 42 points in the second half and the Chicago Bulls came back to defeat the Toronto Raptors 115-113 on Sunday.
Butler's 3-pointer gave Chicago the lead with 30.6 seconds to play in a game that they had trailed by as many as 15 points.
Center Pau Gasol added 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls (20-12) with forward Nikola Mirotic scoring 17 points.
Guard DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 24 points but missed his shot at the final buzzer.
Forward Luis Scola and point guard Kyle Lowry each scored 22 points for Toronto (21-14) and Lowry added 10 assists.
Guard Cory Joseph added 13 points and forward DeMarre Carroll had 10 for the Raptors.
With the game tied at 109, Lowry hit a turn-around jumper with 40.9 seconds left to put the Raptors ahead by two points.
Butler came back with a 3-pointer to give the Bulls a 112-111 lead.
Lowry missed a driving layup and Toronto forward DeMarre Carroll was called for a foul that sent Gasol to the line, where he made one of two free throws to give the Bulls a two-point lead with 23.8 seconds remaining.
After DeRozan was stopped on his attempt, Bulls forward Taj Gibson made one of two free throws and Chicago led by three. Center Jonas Valanciunas cut the lead to one with 4.6 seconds left.
Butler made one of two free throws and DeRozan missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
The Bulls led by as many as seven and the Raptors led by five but the first quarter ended at 26-26. DeRozan led all scorers with 10 points and Gasol topped the Bulls with eight.
The Raptors opened a 14-point lead late in the second quarter and took a 60-48 lead into the intermission. DeRozan had 17 first-half points for Toronto. Mirotic and Gasol had 12 each for Chicago.
The Raptors worked their lead up to 15 during the third quarter. The Bulls trimmed the lead to four with 3:06 left in the quarter when Butler made a pair of free throws. Consecutive 3-pointers by forwards Patrick Patterson and Terrence Ross put the Raptors into a 10-point lead. Toronto led 87-81 after the third quarter. Butler dominated the quarter with 21 points after being held to two points in the first half.
The Raptors led by 11 after Lowry made a layup with 8:29 to play in the fourth quarter after a Bulls' turnover. Scola's 3-pointer from the corner put the Raptors ahead by 12 points.
The Bulls climbed back to within five points on a bank shot by Butler with 4:34 to play.
Butler hit a 3-pointer with 2:38 to play to cut Toronto's lead to two points.
Toronto center Jonas Valanciunas hit a pair of free throws with 1:54 to play for a four-point lead but Butler and guard E'Twaun Moore scored to tie the game at 109 with 58 seconds to play.
NOTES: Bulls G Derrick Rose (right hamstring tendinitis) missed his third straight game Sunday. He will have an MRI Monday. ...Bulls F Joakim Noah (left shoulder) did not play Sunday and will be re-evaluated Monday. ...Raptors G Kyle Lowry was limping after the win over Charlotte Friday but practiced Saturday and played Sunday. ...Toronto recalled C Lucas Nogueira, G Delon Wright and F Bruno Caboclo from Raptors 905 of the NBA D-League. Caboclo and F Anthony Bennett (sore back) did not play Sunday. ...The Bulls won the first meeting between the teams Monday 104-97 at the United Center. ...The Bulls' next game is Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks at home. ...The Raptors travel to Cleveland to play the Cavaliers Monday, the first of five straight road games, including a trip to London to play the Orlando Magic Jan 14.