Still without Fred VanVleet, the Raptors were quickly left behind by the Bulls of the Vucevic – DeRozan – LaVine trio. In the lead throughout the match, counting up to 19 points ahead (72-53) in the third quarter, the troop of Billy Donovan nevertheless saw their gap melt, until the Raptors go straight ahead…
There were three minutes left to play and the “momentum” was clearly for the Canadians. Except that Gary Trent Jr, the man with the hot hand of Toronto, was expelled and the tandem LaVine – DeRozan managed to regain control of operations. Before Nikola Vucevic sealed the victory at 3-points (111-105).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Nikola Vucevic, the control tower. If DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, and Zach LaVine was very complete (23 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists), it was above all the impact of the Montenegrin pivot that allowed Chicago to dominate until the third quarter. -time. Low post to attract two-man catches, or high post against the Toronto “zone”, he thus made the right readings to find the gaps and give rhythm to his team.
– An eviction that hurts. Gary Trent Jr. had a hot hand, and he played with fire with the referees. While Toronto was very close to the hold-up, his applause and invective a few centimeters from the official, when he could indeed have obtained a foul, made him return to the locker room more quickly than his teammates. A second technique two minutes from the end which may have been very expensive…
– Nick Nurse still close to overthrowing the Bulls. In the first clash between the two teams, at the end of October, Chicago already seemed to be heading for a quiet victory with a 20-point lead in the third quarter. But Toronto had almost reversed the steam behind the tactics of his coach. Bis repeated this time, with another big comeback from the Raptors in the second half… but still a loss in the end.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Nikola Vucevic. 17 points at 8/11 shooting, 15 rebounds, 8 assists and a +/- of +20. The Montenegrin was impressive in his control tower role in Chicago’s very wide attack. Rewarding his teammates’ cuts, punishing opponents’ assists, he really put his stamp on the game.
✅ Javonte Green. He’s back and his stats don’t reflect his impact. He harassed Pascal Siakam almost the entire game, and his offensive energy did Chicago a lot of good.
✅ Gary Trent Jr. It has long been known that he is a walking firecracker, capable of catching fire at any moment. And after his 32 points against Charlotte, he returned the cover to compensate for the absence of Fred VanVleet. Unfortunately, his second technique in the “money-time” may cost the Raptors the game.
⛔ The Bulls bench. Inevitably, with so many injuries, Billy Donovan’s rotation is no longer as dense and the coach has to call on players who are not used to such responsibilities. The Chicago substitutes struggled with the pressure and physical impact imposed by the Raptors in the second half, and the minutes of poor Tyler Cook were particularly problematic.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
