Toronto Raptors (53-23) @ Chicago Bulls (21-55)
When: Saturday, March 30th, 8 P.M. ET
Where: United Center
Leading into tonight’s game:
- Injury report: For the Raptors, Jordan Loyd (with G League team), Kawhi Leonard (personal reasons) and OG Anunoby (concussion-like symptoms) are out. For the Bulls, Wendell Carter Jr. (thumb surgery), Kris Dunn (mid back strain), Chandler Hutchison (toe injury), Lauri Markkanen (medical assessment), Otto Porter Jr. (shoulder strain), and Denzel Valentine (ankle surgery) are out. Zach LaVine (thigh contusion and patellar tendinitis) is listed as doubtful.
- Closing time: Saturday’s game will be the final in a two-game trip before the Raptors return to Scotiabank Arena to host the Orlando Magic on Monday. Toronto is in Chicago after a 117-92 victory against the New York Knicks on Thursday. It was Toronto’s fourth victory over the Knicks this season to complete the season-series sweep.
- Recent history: This is the final meeting between the Raptors and Bulls this season. Toronto earned a 112-103 victory against the Bulls earlier this week, and holds a 3-0 season series lead, with the opportunity to sweep the season series for the second consecutive season. In the win against Chicago earlier this week, Norman Powell led the Raptors with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting off the bench, while Serge Ibaka added 16 points and the reserves as a whole contributed 61 of the team’s 112 points. The Bulls enter Saturday’s game on a three-game losing streak, most recently falling to the Portland Trail Blazers 118-98 on Wednesday.
Extra Assists
- Spicy P: Pascal Siakam had 31 points to lead all scorers in Tuesday’s victory against the Knicks. This was Siakam’s fifth 30-point game this season and 24th time scoring more than 20 points. He shot 11-for-19 from the floor, including 2-for-6 from three and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the win, while adding five rebounds and five assists to go with a steal and a blocked shot in 31 minutes. The Raptors were a +31 when Siakam was on the floor.
- From deep: The Raptors connected on 20 three-pointers against the Knicks, shooting 43 percent (20-for-47) from beyond the arc in Thursday’s win. Danny Green led the way with five threes (5-for-8 shooting), bringing him to a team-high 181 three-pointers made this season. Green is shooting a team-best 45 percent from deep. Fred VanVleet also shot 4-for-8 from three in Thursday’s game, while Norman Powell added a trio of three-pointers off the bench. By the end of the game, 10 Raptors players had connected on at least one three-pointer.
- Off the bench: Norman Powell scored 11 points against the Knicks, shooting 3-for-7 from the floor and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. In his last three games, he is averaging 13.6 points, while shooting 68 percent from the floor and 81 percent from beyond the arc. On the season, Powell is averaging 8.4 points, 1.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. Against the Bulls this season, he has averaged 12.0 points a game while shooing 53 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three.