NBA: Deng jumper lifts Bulls past Raptors

January 17, 2013 11:30am


Luol Deng nailed a jumper with 3.3 seconds to go, and Jose Calderon missed a potential game-winner, as the Chicago Bulls overcame a feisty Toronto Raptors squad in overtime, 107-105, Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Chicago improved to 22-15, to stay close to the Brooklyn Nets for the fourth seed in the East, while Toronto slumped to 14-25, dead last in the Atlantic Division.

[Related: Clippers blowout Grizzlies, Bulls silence Hawks]


Charities by Luol Deng gave his side a four-point lead with 1:22 left in regulation, but the Raptors got within a point following a lay-up by Kyle Lowry, 100-99, less than a minute to go.

On the other end, Marco Belinelli missed a chance to get those two points back, as did Carlos Boozer, whose tip shot failed to connect. Off a timeout, Lowry's 20-footer missed, but Amir Johnson was there to snag the offensive rebound, drawing a foul in the process. Unfortunately, he would manage just a split at the line for a tie, and with 12.1 seconds left, give the ball to Chicago for a shot to win the game.

Once again, the Bulls went to Belinelli for the win, but he missed anew with a fraction of a second left, though the Raptors were unable to punish them for it, which led to the overtime period.

There the two sides battled back and forth anew, culminating in a 105-all deadlock with 8.7 ticks remaining, after a Kyle Lowry short jumper. Off a timeout, Deng canned the 18-foot pull-up that turned out to be the game winner. With fouls to give, Chicago handed Toronto just one second to attempt a hail mary, but Jose Calderon was unable to deliver.

The Bulls actually led by 19 midway through the third quarter, 76-57, but Toronto closed out the period on a 16-3 run to trail by just six entering the fourth.

Carlos Boozer led all scorers with 36 points but had just four in the fourth period and overtime. Luol Deng tallied 19 markers, while Joakim Noah had a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds.

The Raptors got their main punch off the bench, with Alan Anderson scoring 27 on 10-of-18 shooting, followed closely by Kyle Lowry's 26 points and seven dimes. DeMar DeRozan led the starters with 18.

Chicago's strength down low turned out to be the difference as they out-scored Toronto in points in the paint by a whopping 54-36 margin. - AMD, GMA News