TORONTO – Kyle Lowry scored 20 points but it wasn’t enough to lift the Raptors past the Chicago Bulls, as Toronto dropped a 100-93 decision in a battle for the Eastern Conference lead Thursday.
James Johnson added 16 points for the Raptors (7-2), whose late-game surge made for a thrilling affair. Amir Johnson chipped in with 14 points in Toronto’s first loss at the Air Canada Centre this season and first loss in six games. Terrence Ross finished with 12 points.
Pau Gasol scored 27 to lead the Bulls (7-2), while Jimmy Butler finished with 21, and Derrick Rose had 20.
The Raptors led by nine points late in the second quarter, but the Bulls lit it up in third, outscoring Toronto 25-14 in the frame, punctuated with a 27-10 run to give them an 80-66 lead going into the fourth.
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When Joakim Noah fed a wide-open Taj Gibson for a dunk early in the fourth, it put the Bulls up by 16, eliciting groans from the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd of 19,800 that included actor Donald Sutherland.
A fast break running layup by Rose put the Bulls up by 18 with 5:03 to play. Lowry – whose collision with a fan seated courtside left him wiping off remnants of an ice cream sandwich – drained a long jumper with 3:05 to go to make it a 10-point game.
With the fans on their feet, Ross connected on a three to pull Toronto within seven, then a James Johnson block led to an Amir Johnson dunk, and the deficit was five points.
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Mike Dunleavy’s two free throws with a minute left put the Bulls back up by seven, then it was a matter of the clock running out on Toronto.
The game marked the first time the Raptors hosted a nationally-televised game on TNT since the Raptors hosted Orlando – Vince Carter vs. Tracy McGrady – in 2002. And the Air Canada Centre dressed up for the occasion, unfurling the giant “We the North” banner for the first time since the playoffs.
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The noise was reminiscent of last season’s playoff games, but all the ACC cheering couldn’t lift Toronto to a victory.
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau had high praise for the Raptors pre-game.
“When you look at the backcourt of DeRozan and Lowry, they’re right up there at the top,” he said. “I had a chance to be around DeMar with Team USA and he’s not only a great player, he’s a legitimate superstar in this league, he’s a great person. He’s the type of guy who helps unite a team, there’s not anything he doesn’t do on the floor. . . he plays to win.
“And Lowry is as good a competitor as you’ll find in the league. He plays with a lot of toughness all the time. We’ve got a lot of respect for them.”
It was a strong game for Rose, whose two sprained ankles had kept him out of half of Chicago’s games, to this point. Rose played in just 49 games total in the last two seasons, due to knee injuries.
Rose left the game with 1:53 left to play with a left hamstring injury.
The two teams were evenly matched through a first quarter that saw eight lead changes, and neither team lead by more than three points. The Bulls took a 25-24 lead into the second.
James Johnson scored 12 points in a second quarter that saw the Raptors’ second unit contributing 18 of Toronto’s 22 points. Greivis Vasquez fed Johnson for a dunk that put the Raptors up by eight midway through the frame, then Patrick Patterson drained a three with 38 seconds to go, and the Raptors headed to the dressing room up 52-45 at halftime.
A running dunk by Jonas Valanciunas early in the fourth put Toronto up by five, but then the wheels fell off. Gasol and Dunleavy scored eight points apiece in the quarter to lead a charging Bulls team that took a 14-point lead into the fourth.
The Raptors host Utah on Saturday, then Memphis on Wednesday. Their homestand ends Nov. 21 when they host Milwaukee.
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