The Chicago Bulls remain in 9th place of the Eastern Conference standings, in spite of a 118-107 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, January 31, at the United Center.
Bulls center Nikola Vucevic told the Crusader on Tuesday night he believes, the team is better than what their record shows on paper. Chicago is currently 22-26 on the season.
“We just have not been as consistent as we need to be,” said Vucevic to the Crusader, after the loss to the Raptors. “That’s been hurting us. Injuries as well.”
In spite of the loss, the Bulls outscored the Raptors 31-27 in the first quarter and 32-26 in the second quarter. The Bulls led 63-53 at halftime.
According to Bulls PR, forward DeMar DeRozan tallied three steals and three blocks in the first half versus the Raptors. He became the third player in Bulls history since at least 1997-98 (when PxP information was first tracked) to accomplish this feat in a half (via @bball_ref). DeRozan scored a team high 25 points.
Guard Ayo Dosunmu finished second in team scoring with 21 points. He extended his career-long double-digit scoring streak to eight straight games (1/13-1/30), noted Bulls PR. During this stretch, Bulls PR added, Dosunmu has tallied three 20 plus point games, tying his career high for 20 plus point games in a season (via @bball_ref).
Final Score: Bulls 107, Raptors 118
Following the loss to the Raptors, the Bulls played the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, January 31, on the road.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
