Deng helps Bulls beat Raptors

[January 05, 2011]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Luol Deng scored 24 points and the surging Chicago Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors 111-91 on Tuesday night.

Derrick Rose added 19 points and six assists for the Bulls, who have won five straight and 14 of 16. Reserve Taj Gibson had 16 points and 14 rebounds, helping Chicago to a 44-33 edge on the glass and a 58-38 advantage in points in the paint.

Chicago pulled away in the second quarter. Leading 35-31 with 9:14 left, the Bulls closed the half with a 24-10 surge. Rose had a key three-point play, Gibson had a tip-in and Deng scored with 6.2 seconds left to give the Bulls a 59-41 lead at the break.

Andrea Bargnani, returning after missing four games with sore left calf, scored 23 for Toronto. DeMar DeRozan had 18 points.

Deng's dunk early in the third quarter gave Chicago a 24-point lead, and Rose and Carlos Boozer sat out the final period. Boozer finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls.

The slumping Raptors got Bargnani and Jerryd Bayless back, but point guard Jose Calderon missed the game with a sprained right ankle. Bayless, who missed a game with a sprained left ankle, had 11 and eight assists.

Toronto has lost 12 of its last 15 games.

The Bulls have taken advantage of a soft schedule that's consisted of only three teams above .500 in their last 16 games.

Omer Asik added a career-high 13 points and seven rebounds for Chicago.

NOTES: Raptors F Sonny Weems missed his eighth straight game with back spasms. ... With a 22-point lead with 6:01 left, the crowd starting chanting "Scalabrine, Scalabrine." Boozer and Joakim Noah also got involved on the Chicago bench. The fans finally got their wish when Brian Scalabrine came in with 2:34 left to a loud ovation and hit a jumper with 16 seconds left.

[Associated Press]

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