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Game Rap: Raptors 120 Bulls 129

Jay Satur - Raptors.com

It Was Over When....

Solid guard depth, big bench performances and the ability to shut the door in the fourth quarter have all been factors in the Raptors' franchise-best start. On Monday, the Bulls used all of those things against them. The Bulls scored 49 fourth-quarter points on 70 per cent shooting from the field and a seemingly endless parade to the free throw line in the final frame. Those 49 points are a Bulls' franchise record for points in a quarter.

But the Raptors managed to survive until around seven minutes to go in the fourth when they went ahead 95-94 on a Kyle Lowry runner. Chicago responded with a quick 6-0 run and continued to build their lead to as many as 13 points with just over a minute to play.

"They’re a great team. We knew it coming in," said head coach Dwane Casey. "You can’t think you can just outscore people. Our defensive attention to detail was just not there."

The Game Changer

The Bulls surge in the fourth quarter was a direct result of re-inserting Derrick Rose into the game after a lengthy rest on the bench. Rose, returning after a two-game absence due to illness, didn't miss a beat down the stretch in a thrilling head-to-head battle against Kyle Lowry and turned in a vintage performance with 15 fourth-quarter points on a perfect 6-6 shooting from the field.

“He is an All-Star. He’s a great player and he made some tough shots," said Casey. "Even in that stretch though, we made him work and he took tough shots but your help's got to be there when it's supposed to be there and it can't fall asleep."

The Underrated Raptor

Jonas Valanciunas turned in an outstanding first half (and particularly first quarter) on his way to 20 points to go with nine rebounds. In the first, Valanciunas had some serious bounce in his step and his post-game on display as the Raptors were looking to get him involved early -- the big man had matched his season high of 12 field goal attempts after 12 minutes.

But Valanciunas wasn't nearly as involved in the second half (4 pts on 4-4 FGM-A, 4 rebs), which has become a pattern this season. The centre has averaged 7.1 points on 5.3 field goal attempts in the first half of games this season and 5.3 points on 2.8 shot attempts in the second.

That's A Rap

"I thought that whatever we were from three, I thought going down the stretch we should have been attacking the feet. Kyle did that in the end and we started scoring. So we've got to find a happy medium, we missed some wide open looks. Whether it's back-to-backs, legs or whatever, then you've got to be smart about it and attack the basket, draw and kick and that's what they did to us" - Head coach Dwane Casey, on the amount of Raptors 3-point attempts

By The Numbers

43-47 - Free throw shooting for the Bulls (91.5%). Easily surpassing their previous season high for 32 three throws made vs. Denver on Nov. 25th

66 - Points from the Raptors in the first half, season high vs. the Bulls this season

3-19 - 3-point shooting in the second half for the Raptors (.158)

15 - Assists for the Raptors, the first game in which they've recorded fewer than 20 in their last nine games

15 - Blocked Raptors shots on Monday. Jimmy Butler had five himself

They Said It

"Forty-nine points? Give them credit. Whatever play they called they got good shots, and they got where they wanted to get on the floor. But we didn't give them any pushback. That's one thing we have to make sure we do from now on." - Kyle Lowry on Chicago's offence

"We've been hearing about it all week, the last couple of days. They wanted to play us, we beat them there and they wanted to come here and get revenge. Tonight I think was a big game for us," - Derrick Rose, on the Raptors wanting Monday's win

Up Next

The Raptors get a rare extended holiday break to recharge and refocus and will resume play on December 27th against the Clippers in Los Angeles for their second game of six straight on the road (3:30 PM ET, Sportsnet, TSN 1050)