Bulls at Raptors
The Toronto Raptors get a chance to avenge their lone loss in the last five games when they host the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. The Raptors dropped a 104-97 decision in Chicago on Monday but responded with back-to-back victories.
Toronto is following a trend in which it wins when it holds the opponent to fewer than 100 points and loses whenever allowing triple digits. The Raptors picked up their 14th straight triumph when holding the opposition under 100 with a 104-94 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, which came on the heels of a 94-91 win over the Washington Wizards. The Bulls have reached triple digits in six straight games and dominated at both ends in a 108-81 win over the New York Knicks on Friday that capped a perfect three-game homestand. Chicago held the Knicks to eight fourth-quarter points in Friday’s win and made efficient use of its 3-point attempts with a 10-of-16 effort from beyond the arc.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE BULLS (19-12): Forward Nikola Mirotic managed two points on 1-of-6 shooting in the win over Toronto on Monday and was held scoreless in 20 minutes against the Pacers on Wednesday. The 24-year-old finally busted out of the slump on Friday, when he delivered 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, seven assists, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 31 minutes. Mirotic is stepping up on the defensive end of late and recorded multiple blocked shots in four of the last six games.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (21-13): Toronto was nearly as dominant in the fourth quarter on Friday as Chicago, outscoring Charlotte 30-12 in the period en route to a 10-point triumph. The Raptors held the Hornets to 4-of-21 from the field in the fourth and DeMar DeRozan led the offense with 23 points – the 11th time in the last 12 games that he went for 20 or more. DeRozan’s lone contest failing to reach 20 points in the last dozen was at Chicago on Monday, when he was limited to 19 points in 36 minutes.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors PG Kyle Lowry tweaked his ankle in the fourth quarter on Friday and is day-to-day.
2. Bulls rookie F Bobby Portis is averaging 14.7 points in the last three games.
3. Toronto C Bismack Biyombo recorded double-digit boards in eight of the last nine games, with the lone exception a nine-rebound effort against Chicago on Monday.