FINAL FROM TORONTO
Raptors 129, Bulls 102 (Bulls: 19-33, 8-18 on the road)
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: Young: 21pts. Raptors: Davis: 31 (CH).
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: LaVine: 7. Raptors: Siakam: 9.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: LaVine: 7 Raptors: VanVleet: 8.
Raptors win the season series 3-0.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: Toronto outscored the Bulls in the second half 69-39.
RECAP: It was a stark difference of halves for the Bulls as they played a tremendous first 24 minutes, going into the break up by three only to see the Raps explode in the final two quarters.
The Raps are so deep and they took advantage of it throughout the game as undrafted rookie free agent guard Terrence Davis scored a career-high 31 points drilling six of seven three-point attempts. The Raptors intensified their defense bottling up Zach LaVine who had his 17 game streak of scoring 20+ points end with an 18-7-7 game. The Bulls struggled shooting the ball: 38% from the field, 31% from three-point range - 65% from the foul line. The Raps have now won 112 straight in the series against the Bulls and overall won their 11th straight game-tying a franchise record.
Daniel Gafford returned to the rotation after missing nine games with a hand injury and played nine minutes, scoring one point and one rebound.
The Bulls played without Kris Dunn, Lauri Markkanen, Otto Porter Jr. and Wendell Carter Jr.
UP NEXT: Home with New Orleans Thursday.
As we celebrate Black History Month, it was a pleasure reconnecting with a dear friend in Wayne Embry who played for the Royals (Kings) and Celtics in the 1950s and 60s and was an outstanding five-time All-Star player. He later became the first African-Americans General Manager and President in NBA history. Mr. Embry works in the front office of the Raptors and is a tremendous man.
24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES:
Milwaukee 129, Phoenix 108: Giannis Antetokounmpo with 30 points and 19 rebounds and 9 assists. His fellow All-Star Khris Middleton had 25-8-6. The Bucks have scored at least 100 points in 73 consecutive games.
Detroit 128, Denver 123 OT: The Pistons rallied from a 21 point deficit as Andre Drummond had 21 points and 17 rebounds. Nikola Jokic had a very impressive 39-10-11 game.
Houston 117, New Orleans 109: Zion Williamson with a 21-10 game as his Pelicans saw their three-game win streak come to an end. Williamson recorded his fourth 20 point game.
Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving will miss at least a week with a knee injury.
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls
Always a pleasure.