Feisty Raptors Can't Claw out of 20 Point Hole in Loss to Bulls

The Toronto Raptors showed a ton of fight late but couldn't overcome the massive 20 point deficit they dug themselves against the Chicago Bulls

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

This Toronto Raptors team is certainly going to be annoying this season.

That, for better or for worse, has been the Raptors calling card recently. They’ll fall behind by 20 points and look poised for a disappointing blowout only to somehow come alive late to make things interesting. But why? Sure, basketball is a game of runs, but how can a team look so bad for so long only to suddenly turn things around the moment everything looks lost? It’s a question Raptors coach Nick Nurse is going to try to answer after Toronto somehow climbed out of a 20-point deficit to pull within a pair of the Chicago Bulls in the fourth quarter.

It may not have ended the way Toronto had hoped, falling 111-108 to the Bulls, but whoever that team was in the fourth quarter certainly gave Raptors fans reason for hope.

DeMar Still Crafty

The one thing the Raptors could really use right now is a DeMar DeRozan. He's the one thing missing on this young Raptors team, a veteran who can just take the ball and make big shots when things get bogged down in crunch time.

For the Bulls, the 32-year-old DeRozan played hero in his second game back since his 2018 trade to San Antonio. He nailed three pull-up jumpers in the final five minutes to stave off the Raptors' comeback.

"Just trying to do my job, especially with my experience, understanding those moments," DeRozan said. "I understand what needs to be done. You know we got kind of stagnant and couldn’t score, those guys went on a run. It’s always my job, especially late games, to close out games, understanding what needs to be done and to get to my spots and try to make big shots."

"Yeah, he bailed them out because I thought we turn the water off on the other guys," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "He came in that last run in the fourth and pretty much made all their buckets. I don’t remember any other scorers."

Eleven of DeRozan's game-high 26 points came in the final quarter.

Record Night for VanVleet

Fred VanVleet had one of the strangest nights of his NBA career. With the Bulls refusing to let him create anything on offense, he decided to play facilitator, kicking out to open shooters and orchestrating Toronto's offense like a true point guard. It came with mixed results. On one hand, he recorded 17 assists, three more than his previous career-high of 14. On the other, the Bulls surprisingly lockdown defense forced him into a career-high eight turnovers, the final one a costly kick-out pass Alex Caruso intercepted to help the Bulls clinch the victory.

"I thought he was handling [the ball] pretty well as much as he was getting knocked around," Nurse said. "It’s very, very physical out there."

VanVleet finished the night with 15 points, 17 assists, eight turnovers, and six rebounds.

Fred & Precious Can’t Find Connection

Something has been just a split second off between VanVleet and Precious Achiuwa this season. The two can’t seem to hook up in the pick-and-roll with any consistency. VanVleet will throw it up and Achiuwa can’t quite corral it, usually trying to slam it down with one hand. Maybe it’s something that’s just going to take some time, but if things can’t come together, it might be time to swap Khem Birch into the starting lineup as his chemistry with VanVleet seems a little further along.

Up Next: Indiana Pacers

The Raptors homestand continues Wednesday night when the Indiana Pacers come to town for a 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff. It’ll certainly be a revenge game for Raptors assistant Nate Bjorkgren who was fired after just one year with the Pacers.