Raptors-Bulls Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Mar 24 2012 12:16AM

Minus Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls needed a late rally to beat the Toronto Raptors earlier this week.

With their injured star likely out again, the Eastern Conference-leading Bulls try for their second victory in as many games against the Raptors on Saturday night at the United Center.

Trailing by as many as 12 points in the second half Wednesday, Chicago (39-10) outscored Toronto 32-13 in the fourth quarter en route to a 94-82 road victory. Luol Deng had 17 points with 10 rebounds while point guards C.J. Watson and John Lucas went a combined 5 of 10 from 3-point range and totaled 28 points as the Bulls won their third in a row.

Chicago is 11-4 this season without Rose, who remains day to day with a sore groin.

"This team, we have a lot of pieces that fit really well together," said swingman Kyle Korver, who scored 10 off the bench. "We all have different strengths and we try to play to our strengths.

Chicago overcame a 43.9-percent shooting effort and 14 turnovers at Toronto to win for the 14th time in 16 games.

"You have to win games different ways," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "If you're going to be a good team, that's what you have to do."

Watson and Lucas continue to hold their own in place of Rose. Lucas, who scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter, has totaled 33 on 13-of-24 shooting (54.2 percent) in the last two games.

"We're so deep that there's always guys somehow, somewhere, who are going to get it going," said Deng, averaging 18.3 points in the last six games versus Toronto.

Chicago, winner of three in a row and six of seven versus Toronto, has outscored the Raptors 53-25 in the fourth quarter of the teams' two meetings this season. The Bulls have won the last three against the Raptors at the United Center by an average margin of 13.3 points. They held the Raptors (16-32) to 34.9 percent shooting during a 77-64 home win Jan. 14.

"They're one of the best defensive teams in the league," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "When you know that a championship team is turning up the screws, you have to make every play. There's no room for negotiations."

DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points against the Bulls on Wednesday, but it's uncertain if the Toronto swingman will be able to go in this contest after he was injured during Friday's 96-79 home win over New York. DeRozan scored a season-high 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting to help the Raptors snap a three-game skid, but he hobbled off the court after colliding with teammate Jose Calderon late in the contest.

"I came down and tweaked my ankle a little bit," DeRozan said. "It was just a little scare. It's a little sore. Try to get it ready for the (Saturday night)."

DeRozan has averaged 21.6 points on 50.6 percent shooting in the last five games, and 21.2 in the last five versus Chicago.

Andrea Bargnani added 21 points Friday for the Raptors, who had lost seven of 10 prior to that contest but led by as many as 22 against the Knicks.

Deng saves Bulls at buzzer in OT

By RICK GANO
Posted Mar 25 2012 2:28AM

CHICAGO (AP) Lucky? Maybe. Luol Deng's timing was awful good, too. He grabbed a shot that had been blocked and put it in the basket just before the buzzer sounded Saturday night, rescuing the Chicago Bulls and giving them their NBA-leading 40th victory.

At 40-10, the Bulls clinched a playoff spot.

Teammate C.J. Watson drove for the basket but his shot was partially blocked by Toronto's James Johnson and Deng was there for the winner. After officials reviewed the play to make sure Deng's shot beat the buzzer, the Bulls had a 102-101 overtime victory on a night in which they were often outplayed by the 16-win Raptors.

"We're lucky we had enough time to get the rebound," Deng said. "When it left my hand it felt good because I saw the light after it left my hand. But then again, you never really know. We waited until they made the decision."

Johnson, an ex-Bull, had 20 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots, part of another determined effort by the Raptors, who gave Chicago a scare three nights ago before losing.

"That's what happens sometimes," Johnson said.

"The ball happened to fall short after I blocked it and Luol Deng made a great play. We deserved to win tonight, but they made the game-winning play."

Carlos Boozer had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, Deng added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Watson had 23 points.

Jose Calderon also had 20 points and 10 assists, and Gary Forbes had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, but missed two free throws with 6.4 seconds left in overtime.

Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau was anything but pleased after the victory. The Bulls had beaten the Raptors 94-82 on Wednesday night in Toronto after trailing by 12 in the second half.

"We hung in but the disappointing thing is that it's two games in a row," Thibodeau said. "We found a way to win. ... Very fortunate. We were lucky to get that game. They outplayed us from the start. They dominated us. They outrebounded us by 14."

The Raptors had a 58-44 rebounding edge, were aided by Chicago's horrendous 3-point shooting - 3-for-23 - but were hurt by 20 turnovers.

"You block the shot, there was a scramble. They had nothing going, they get the loose ball and put it in. That's the microcosm of the season," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said.

The Bulls were already without star guard Derrick Rose, who sat out his sixth straight game with a groin injury. And then they lost center Joakim Noah, when he was ejected with 1:28 left in the opening half after picking up two technical fouls.

After he was called for a personal foul under the basket, Noah apparently got one technical for complaining and then a second after throwing the ball in the direction of an official.

"We are short-handed already. We can't have that," Thibodeau said.

The Raptors also were thin and used only eight players after beating the Knicks on Friday night. DeMar DeRozan missed the game with an ankle injury and Jerryd Bayless was out with a hip pointer.

Calderon hit a go-ahead jumper for Toronto in the extra period before Boozer hit two free throws with 1:19 left for another tie at 100.

Johnson, was fouled with 15.2 seconds to go and hit the second of two free throws to give the Raptors a 101-100 lead.

With the game tied at 94, the Raptors got off three shots in the closing seconds of regulation and after a wild scramble, the ball was knocked out of bounds and Toronto maintained possession with 3.9 seconds left following a video review.

Andrea Bargnani then had a good look at a 3-pointer, but the ball went in and went out, forcing overtime.

Watson had a jumper, two free throws and a 3-pointer as the Bulls rallied from seven down in the fourth to tie it at 86 with just under 3 minutes left.

Watson, who had 13 points in the fourth quarter, hit a 3 from the right side to give Chicago a 93-92 lead with 52.6 seconds to go. But Amir Johnson took a lob pass from Calderon and dunked to give the lead right back to Toronto. Watson then hit 1 of 2 from the line to make it 94-all with 32.2 seconds left.

Notes: DeRozan fell one start short of tying the franchise record. DeRozan, averaging 16.5 points, had started 130 straight games but was injured in the fourth quarter of Friday night's victory over the Knicks when he scored 30 points. The Raptors' record for consecutive starts is 131 set by Alvin Williams. Forbes started for DeRozan ... Richard Hamilton, who has played only 16 games this season, sat out a 10th straight game with a shoulder injury. ... A moment of silence was observed for Lacy J. Banks, the long-time Chicago Sun-Times sports journalist who covered the Bulls during their championship years and also was a minister. Banks died this week.

Notebook: Bulls 102, Raptors 101

Posted Sunday March 25, 2012 12:27AM

By Kent McDill, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Luol Deng grabbed an airball by C.J. Watson and put it in at the buzzer in the first overtime to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 102-101 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors Saturday. It wasn't a moral victory for the Raptors; more like an immoral loss, because they outplayed the Bulls the entire game. But the Raptors missed four shots in the final 32 seconds of regulation, and missed three free throws in the final minute of overtime to allow the Bulls the opportunity to win. Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 24 points while former Bull James Johnson and Jose Calderon each had 20 for the Raptors.

THE FACTS II: Starting the game without two starters in Derrick Rose and Rip Hamilton, the Bulls lost a third starter right before halftime when center Joakim Noah disagreed with a foul call and threw the ball in the direction of the referee. He continued to argue the call and got his second technical and second career ejection.

QUOTABLE: "This kind of game usually goes to the team that is one of the better teams in the league."
-- Calderon.

THE STAT: The Raptors outrebounded the top rebounding team in the league 58-44 for the game, and had 22 offensive rebounds to 21 for the Bulls. However, the Bulls scored 32 second-chance points to just 16 for the Raptors. The Raptors had 18 turnovers to just nine for the Bulls.

THE STAT II: The Bulls made only three of 23 3-point shots in the game, but one of them came with 52 seconds left in regulation and put the Bulls ahead for the first time in the fourth quarter, 93-92.

THE STAT III: There were four double-doubles in the game: Boozer (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Deng (23 points, 10 rebounds) for Chicago, Calderon (20 points and 10 assists) and Gary Forbes (12 points, 13 rebounds) for the Raptors.

TURNING POINT: Leading 101-100 with 6.4 seconds left in overtime, Forbes missed two free throws, giving the Bulls the chance to win the game.

INJURY UPDATE: Toronto's DeMar DeRozan missed his first start in the last 131 Toronto games with a sprained ankle suffered at the end of the game against New York Friday. Jerryd Bayless of the Raptors did not play because of a lingering hip pointer. Rose did not play for the sixth straight game because of his sore groin and Hamilton remained out for the 10th consecutive game with a shoulder injury.

HOT: Toronto's Calderon made eight of 13 shots, with six rebounds to go with his 20 points and 10 assists.

NOT: Kyle Korver is either hot or not, and he was not Saturday, going one for seven from the field.

QUOTABLE II: "We were lucky to get that game. They outplayed us from the start."
-- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau

QUOTABLE III: "We had free throws to make and Andrea (Bargnani) had a great look at the end. He missed a shot he would make nine times out of 10."
-- Toronto coach Dwane Casey

NOTABLE: Noah's ejection occurred about two hours after Noah's alma mater, the University of Florida, was eliminated by Louisville in the NCAA tournament ... forward Taj Gibson started the second half in place of Noah for the Bulls instead of backup center Omer Asik ... the Bulls never led by more than four points ... the Raptors start a five-game home stretch Monday.

UP NEXT: For the Bulls, vs. Denver Monday, @ Atlanta Wednesday, vs. Detroit Friday. For the Raptors, vs. Orlando Monday, vs. Denver Wednesday, vs. Miami Friday.

• Raptors: --
• Bulls: --

• Raptors: --
• Bulls: Noah, Noah

• Lead Changes: 18
• Times Tied: 17

• Arena: United Center, Chicago, IL
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #11 Derrick Collins, #61 Courtney Kirkland
• Attendance: 21841
• Duration: 2:43