By Canadian Press

DeRozan leads Bulls in 115-98 pre-season win over Raptors

Oct 9, 2022 | 5:48 PM

TORONTO — Former Toronto Raptors standout DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points in 27 minutes to push the Chicago Bulls past his former team 115-98 on Sunday.

In their only NBA pre-season game at Scotiabank Arena, the Raptors (2-2) were outscored by 17 points.

Toronto starters Pascal Siakam scored 18 points, followed by Gary Trent Jr.’s 17 and Fred VanVleet’s 13. Dalano Banton chipped in 11 points from off the bench.

The Raptors shot a dismal 22-for-31 from the foul line in a game that featured seven lead changes and was tied six times.

Javonte Green heated up in the second half to finish with 17 points for Chicago (2-1).

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Down in the second quarter by as many as 12 points, the Bulls rallied for an 18-5 run to begin the second half. Zach LaVine nailed a three-pointer five minutes into the third quarter to push Chicago to a 63-62 lead.

Toronto forward Juancho Hernangomez drained a three-point jumper to regain an 80-77 advantage after the third quarter.

On the strength of Trent’s 15 first-half points, the Raptors enjoyed a 38-27 lead after the first quarter and 57-47 at halftime.

Trent was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including a three-pointer, and 4-for-4 from the foul line. DeRozan led the Bulls with 13 first-half points.

Chris Boucher (left hamstring strain) joined Otto Porter Jr. (left hamstring strain) and Malachi Flynn (left cheekbone fracture) on the injured list.

Boucher suffered his setback in Houston on Friday and underwent an MRI on Saturday.

“Don’t think it’s super-serious, but, just like with Otto, those things are touchy,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said. “(Boucher) will not be with us for a little bit.”

ROVING RAPS

In their training camp travels, the Raptors have gone from Toronto to Victoria to Edmonton, back to Toronto for a day, on to Boston, Houston and back to Toronto for Sunday’s outing.

Nurse and his players are pleased to stay at home this week with a slate of practices.

“I would never complain about being Canada’s team,” Nurse said. “But part of it is to go play these games in other cities in Canada, and that causes us to have a heavy travel schedule.

“It’s been a lot of travel and a lot of late nights already, but that’s OK. We’ll be just fine.”

UP NEXT

The Raptors will play their pre-season finale against the Boston Celtics in Montreal on Friday and open their 28th regular season at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 19.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2022.

Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press