FINAL FROM TORONTO: Raptors 95, Bulls 89. (Bulls: 10-27, 5-14 on the road)
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 18. Raps: Leonard: 27.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Carter: 11. Raps: Siakam: 12.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn: 8. Raps: Van Vleet: 7.
CCI RECAP: A grind it out game but in my opinion it came down to three elements: 1. Turnovers: The Bulls committed 18 leading to 21 points. In two games against the Raptors, the Bulls have turned the ball over a total of 40 times with Toronto scoring 56 points in the Raps 2-0 series lead. 2: Second chance points. Toronto won the battle 24-10. The Raps got to loose balls and long rebounds. Finally: I totally get Kawhi Leonard’s greatness and he is GREAT but Pascal Siakam was the all over the court. He finished with a 20-12-4 game. Of his 12 rebounds, six were on the offensive glass.
Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. each recorded their second straight double-doubles. Kris Dunn with a 14 point 8 assists game but I loved the play of Chandler Hutchison who was a perfect 5-5 from the floor and scored 11 points and 3 rebounds off the bench.
The Bulls now return home for three straight games.
CCI IN THE LOCKER ROOM: “I’m really proud of our guys. Thought we battled and for about 36/38 minutes we controlled the game and tempo. They made a few more shots and big plays than us.” Coach Boylen
CCI GAME BALLS: Bulls: Carter, Jr., Dunn, Hutchison, Markkanen. Toronto: Siakam.
CCI PLAY OF THE NIGHT: Kris Dunn’s slam dunk.
UP NEXT: Home with Orlando Wednesday.
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Minnesota 113, Miami 104. Take your time to digest these numbers over your second cup of java. Karl-Anthony Towns: 34 points. 18 rebounds. 7 assists. 6 block shots. 3 steals. I repeat. 34-18-7. 6-blocks. 3 steals. Oh, my.
Portland 129, Philadelphia 95. The 76ers played without Joel Embiid (left knee soreness). The Blazers led 70-41 at half. Ballgame.
Dallas 105, OKC 103. Luka Doncic. Scored 25- An amazing rookie start. Meantime, Russell Westbrook missed a corner three at the buzzer. He finished with a 4 -22 field goals night. Ouch!
Orlando 109, Detroit 107. Evan Fournier with the game winning shot at the buzzer. D.J. Augustin with a 26 points 8 assists game but suffered an ankle injury as did his Orlando teammate Jonathan Simmons.
Los Angeles Lakers 121, Sacramento Kings 112. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, remember him? He scored a season high 26 points. LeBron celebrated his 34th birthday. He sat out again with a groin injury. In the past few days we’ve seen James entering the Staples Center with a glass of wine, apologizing for making opinionated remarks and now this…..maybe we need Rachel Nichols to line up another interview.
From ESPN.Com: When LeBron James reflects back on the Cleveland Cavaliers' first NBA title in 2016, he says that accomplishment allowed him to think of himself as the best player in the game. "That one right there made me the greatest player of all time," James said in Episode 7 of the eight-part ESPN+ series More Than An Athlete.
Oh, really?
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out to cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter: @ctsbulls. Always a pleasure!