DeRozan's 42 point help Raptors solve Bulls in OT
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[March 22, 2017]
TORONTO -- The Toronto Raptors
showed fight in more than one way Tuesday night.
They fought back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter and won
122-120 in overtime over the Chicago Bulls, led by 42 points from
DeMar DeRozan -- one shy of his career best.
In gaining their third straight win, they fought off the hold the
Bulls have had on them in recent seasons, ending an 11-game losing
streak against them.
Raptors forward Serge Ibaka showed another kind of fight when he was
involved in a skirmish with Bulls center Robin Lopez near the basket
after Jimmy Butler's 3-pointer gave Chicago a 16-point lead with
3:59 to play in the third quarter.
"It felt great, in the fact that win, lose or draw, I felt we were
scrapping, competing and that's all you can ask for from your team
at this time of year," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.
Ibaka and Lopez were ejected for fighting. Ibaka had 16 points and
Lopez finished with 12.
"I think it was just a really physical game for everybody, it just
kind of hit a flashpoint," Lopez said.
"What happened is that he was playing physical basketball and he got
frustrated," Ibaka said. "We started to push each other like always
happens when there's contact and then he threw the punch. Like man
I'm just going to defend myself."
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Cory Joseph added 19 points for the Raptors (42-29), who won three
in a row. P.J. Tucker added eight points and 12 rebounds.
Jimmy Butler had 37 points and 10 rebounds to lead Chicago (33-38).
Rajon Rondo added 24 points for the Bulls and Paul Zipser scored 12.
"The biggest thing is we didn't handle their pressure well," Bulls
coach Fred Hoiberg said. "They got into us, they turned us over,
just a couple of mindless ones that got them easy baskets, got them
back into the game got their confidence (up) and got them momentum.
I thought we did miss some good looks, we had three or four open
shots and missed a couple of layups down the stretch and in
overtime."
He deferred comment on the altercation until he sees the video.
The Bulls stretched a five-point halftime lead to a 15-point
advantage after three quarters.
The Raptors cut the lead to four on two free throws by Joseph with
3:27 to play in the fourth quarter. A layup by Fred VanVleet reduced
the lead to two points.
After a Chicago miss, Toronto tied it on a layup by Joseph with 1:50
remaining. Butler responded with a jump shot and a layup to give the
Bulls a four-point lead with 1:12 left.
DeRozan's jumper cut the lead to two. He then tied the score on a
layup with 37.3 seconds to play but missed the free throw. After
both teams missed shots, the game went to overtime tied at 113.
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![](../images/032217pics/sports73.jpg)
Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) knocks the ball away from Chicago
Bulls center Joffrey Lauvergne (77) at the Air Canada Centre.
Toronto defeated Chicago 122-120 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: John
E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
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DeRozan hit a turnaround jumper with 1:23 to play in
overtime to give Toronto a 117-115 lead. Patrick Patterson's layup
put Toronto ahead by four with 44.7 seconds left in overtime.
DeRozan hit one of two free throws with nine seconds left for a
five-point lead.
"It was one of those fun games," DeRozan said. "It sucks because of
the altercation, we will probably lose Serge (Ibaka) for a couple of
games, but that's eighties basketball, I guess."
Butler's 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left in overtime to cut
Toronto's lead to two.
The Bulls led 31-27 after the first quarter and 59-54 after the
first half.
After Butler's 3-pointer gave the Bulls a 16-point lead, Ibaka and
Lopez became involved in a skirmish.
"It seemed like I had three guys on me, I was being pulled back,"
Lopez said. "It felt like nobody had any hold on him and he just
kept coming at me with his arm. I was just trying to get him off
me."
He said the punch Ibaka threw only grazed him.
The third quarter ended with the Bulls leading 94-79.
"I felt that we played some of our best basketball of the season to
build that lead," Hoiberg said. "Guys were playing together, the
pace was phenomenal, especially early in the game. The game just got
a little ugly."
NOTES: A moment of silence was observed before the game Tuesday in
memory of longtime Chicago Bulls executive Jerry Krause, 77, earlier
in the day. He was the architect of six Bulls' championships during
his 18-year tenure (1985-2003). The Bulls wore a black strip on
their uniforms. ... The Raptors wore their blue Toronto Huskies
uniforms, honoring the team that played in the first season of the
NBA (1946-47). ... The Raptors play their next game Thursday when
they visit the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. ... The Bulls
return home to the United Center on Wednesday where they play the
Detroit Pistons. ... Chicago F/C Cristiano Felicio was injured
beneath the basket with 7:24 to play in the fourth quarter and
needed to be helped to the bench with what was termed a tailbone
injury. [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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