Big when it counts | Toronto Sun
"Chris has been solid and consistent with his effort (all season)," Triano said. "He battled, and they made it tough on him."
Rookie shooting guard DeMar DeRozan had nine boards, two blocks and nine points, including a huge slam in the third that lifted the 16,310 faithful to their feet.
"DeMar was great," Triano said. "He chased balls, he rebounded, he was aggressive. He had one of his best games as a pro."
Starting point guard Jose Calderon finished with 18 points and six assists while small forward Hedo Turkoglu had 11 points, eight boards, four assists and two steals, but left the game in the fourth quarter with a sore hip. He'll be re-evaluated today.
The Raptors are still without forward Reggie Evans, who hasn't played in the regular season because of a left midfoot strain. He's listed as day-to-day.
"He's much better. He's walking around without the boot now. He's got basketball shoes on," head coach Jay Triano said.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Raptors embark today on a four-game Western swing, beginning tomorrow in L.A. against the Clippers, followed by games in Phoenix (Nov.15), Denver (Nov.17) and Utah (Nov.18). Toronto opened the season with eight of 12 games on the road, all against teams in the West.
Raps `all on the same page’ – thestar.com
Finally, they got it.
Finally, the embarrassment got to be too much.
Finally, there was concerted effort.
Deciding after a horrible first half that they were fed up with themselves, the Raptors put together two solid quarters of offence, defence and intensity Wednesday night, leaving all to wonder why they can't do it all the time.
But save those larger questions for another time; all the Raptors wanted to do was bask in the glow of finally getting things together in a 99-89 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Feschuk: Raptors feed off DeRozan’s high energy – thestar.com
But DeMar DeRozan, Toronto's rookie swingman, did jump and hang and throw down an actual, highlight-reel-worthy slam dunk at a key moment in a 99-89 win over the Chicago Bulls.
And given how long it's been since the Air Canada Centre witnessed that kind of baseline-commanding statement from a high-flyer on the rise – given the Raptors' recent employment of rosters favouring jump shooters to the exclusion of high jumpers – DeRozan might as well have brought home a world freaking title.
Raptors get by Bulls – The Globe and Mail
The scheduling gods have not been kind to the Toronto Raptors, which is why last night’s game against the Chicago Bulls took on added importance for the struggling NBA team.
The Raptors were at home last night for a single game after playing three in four nights in the southern United States, and now they’re headed back on the road for another four, beginning tomorrow night on the West Coast against the Los Angeles Clippers.
“It’s a little bit like a road game for us,” Toronto coach Jay Triano said of the one-game Toronto pit stop last night.
Bosh Powers Raptors Over Bulls, 99-89 – ESPN Video – ESPN
Chirs Bosh had 28 points and 11 rebounds as Toronto evened its mark at 4-4
Chicago Bulls go frigid in 99-89 loss — chicagotribune.com
To say the Bulls went cold down the stretch of a 99-89 loss to the Raptors at Air Canada Centre is like saying Canada likes its hockey.
Save yourself from watching the lowlights and chew on these numbers and details:
–The Bulls shot 3-for-21 in the fourth quarter and 25 percent in the second half.
–They failed to score a field goal for the final 9 minutes, 20 seconds and failed to score any points at all after two Taj Gibson free throws with 6:24 remaining until Kirk Hinrich hit a meaningless free throw with 10.3 seconds left.
–Leading 88-85 after those aforementioned Gibson free throws, the Bulls went 12 possessions without scoring, including three turnovers, and the Raptors went on a 14-0 run.
The Tragically-Hip Toronto Raptors’ Glimmer Of Hope | Bleacher Report
My biggest beef with Toronto has been their passive approach on defense. Toronto doesn't turn the ball over a lot, but they don't force a whole lot of turnovers either.
On the season the Raps are averaging 11.7 turnovers a game (last night excluded, where they had 14), second best in the league, but opponents are only being forced to give up the ball 11.4 times (13 against Chicago), making them worst in the league at forcing turnovers.
For Toronto, the press means that Reggie Evans ironed his shirt before taking his spot on the bench. Opposing teams have gone undisturbed the length of the court and had their way with Toronto with the long ball.
Hopefully that's over with.
End game’s plain offensive :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
To say it was an ugly finish is an insult to ugly.
Leading 88-85 with six minutes remaining, the Bulls suffered an offensive meltdown of epic proportions. They managed just one point the rest of the way — a meaningless free throw with 10 seconds left — and went scoreless on a mind-boggling 12 straight possessions down the stretch.
They were 3-for-21 (14.3 percent) from the field with five turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Daily Herald | Bulls falter in homestretch to Raptors, 99-89
"We had good looks; we've got to knock them down," Bulls forward Luol Deng said. "I don't know whether it's fatigue from the day before or what. We got a lot of looks that we didn't make."
The Bulls lost a day earlier against Denver when Brad Miller's apparent game-winning jumper was ruled no good after the referees took a long look at the replay.
Toronto (4-4) has been one of the worst defensive teams in the league early this season, but the Bulls (4-4) settled for long outside jumpers late in the game and didn't seem to have the leg strength to knock them down.
CBC News – Toronto – Raptors rally to beat Bulls
Raptors head coach Jay Triano credited his team for blanketing Chicago's shooters but added that the Bulls might have been tired after dropping a 90-89 decision at home to Denver a night earlier.
"We switched our coverage a little bit [in the second half]," Triano said. "We just did a much better job of keeping guys in front and forcing them to take tough shots.
"I think they wore down a little bit, too. Shots they were making earlier, they started missing. Whether it was the result of a back-to-back, or Jose and Jarrett [Jack] doing a nice job of picking up full court and making them work to get the ball up the court … they just seemed to run out of juice."
Raps grind one out, win 99-89 over Bulls « That’s what I’m saying, guy…
Bosh again led Toronto with 28 points despite not “having it” the way he usually does. He grinded, going 9-of-21, but made all 10 free throws and was a force on the boards in the team’s second half turnaround. Jose Calderon continued to play well, scoring 18 on 8-of-10 and adding six assists, while Andrea Bargnani managed 16 and six boards and Hedo Turkoglu checked in with 11 and eight.
A Spoonful Of Defense Makes Chicago Go Down – Hoop Heads North
Toronto came out with more energy in the 3rd, holding Chicago to 29 second half points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. They even had a stretch where the Bulls missed 13 field goals in a row, allowing them to fast break and get some easy baskets.
The fact the Bulls were on the tail end of a back to back may have had something to do with it, but we'll choose to ignore that for now.
Raps Post Game: Finally some Basketball… – In Bad Taste
In DeMar’s minutes, he did a very solid job out there. He’s letting the game come to him and not forcing anything. He scrapped for some boards, crammed one home, hit a couple open shots, and best of all, he didn’t take anything that wasn’t there. DeMar didn’t let up after his good first half. Aggressive, intense and strong in the second. For a young dude, I’m liking what I’m seeing. I think Triano has a plan for DeMar, and I like how it’s working out so far.
Toronto Makes A Stand On The Defensive End | Hoops Addict
Toronto’s defense has shown flashes of potential when they held Cleveland to 17 points in a quarter, New Orleans to 14 and Chicago to 11, but they’ve also had quarters where their defensive schemes disappear when Dallas erupted for 44 points or Memphis scored 39.
To prevent these defensive lapses from continuing to rear their ugly head, Toronto needs to start giving a consistent effort on the defensive end.
“It’s a mental effort,” Bosh explained to Hoops Addict after the game. “You just have to will yourself to do it. If we want to be a good defensive team than we need to put in that kind of effort every night. If we play with energy like that we’re going to be in a lot of games and we’ll win a lot of games. ”
Raptors’ Rapid Recap – Toronto 99 – Chicago 89 – Raptors HQ
-Perhaps Triano tore into the troops before the 3rd quarter because suddenly the 3-point shooting stopped and the Raps looked to go inside first. The defence stepped up as well and Chicago scored only 18 in the Q.
-Things got worse for Chicago in the fourth as not only did their key threat on the glass Noah get in foul trouble, but the shots weren't falling for the Bulls and they scored only 11 points.
Raptors, Pizza Pizza, win big against Bulls « The Zan Tabak Herald
Yes, the Raps held the Bulls to under 100 points. But don’t be fooled my young friends. The low mark has more to do with missed shots more than anything else. Our perimeter defense has to improve. Jay knows it. The team knows. Hell, every team in the league knows it. How do we do it? You’re guess is as good as mine. But it says here, it starts with less trapping (it doesn’t seem to be working does it?) and less collapsing on penetration drives. Stay with your man on the 3 point line. See how that works.
No Pizza For You! : The Picket Fence
The best reason for starting DeRozan is twofold. The first is that he is exactly the type of the players that is best to play with the starters. Wright is better defensively, but hurts the team on the offensive end, especially when he gets a case of KrisHumphriesitis, and doesn’t realize there are better offensive players on the court. DeRozan makes better decisions on the offensive end, and doesn’t need the ball to be effective, as Belinelli does. DeRozan is the Raptors best rebounder from the wing position and needs to learn to play with the starters. The dividends will pay off most when it counts, in the final months of the regular season, but, as he showed tonight, it’ll pay off once in a while early on, too. I wouldn’t expect this on a regular basis from DeRozan, at least not yet. He needs to keep up the effort and he’ll find his minutes climb back up.
FAN590 – Blogs – The Rap » Toronto’s D Keys A Win
Smith says:
– “A solid win that SHOULD bode well for the Raptors’ mental make-up as they hit the road for a nasty 4-game west coast trip.”Jones Says:
– “It’s amazing what EFFORT can do.”
Post Game thoughts: Chicago Bulls vs Toronto Raptors « New Leisure Blog
Then something happened. I am not sure what sparked it, but the Raptors starts to play with some urgency. DeMar DeRozan was the X Factor tonight throwing down a huge dunk to get the crowd going, grabbing nine rebounds and showing lots of energy in the third quarter. Then you get Amir Johnson hustling to get to every loose ball, and the Bulls ran out of gas by the middle of the 4th quarter. The Raptors won by 10 points.
Mediocre Forever – A Toronto Raptors Blog: Raptors pull away after some terri-bull defense
# DeMar DeRozan had an awesome game, and deserved more time. 9 points, 9 rebounds – both a career high, along with 2 blocks and a steal. The three turnovers are understandable – rookie mistakes, and that fast break dunk was VICIOUS off the pass from Calderon!! I appreciated that he tried to dunk it again on his next trip down even though he got blocked pretty badly. He even showed a jumper, which is good to see.
# I laughed when Brad Miller got stuffed by Bargnani in the fourth – Miller fell down so slow.
Raptors Game Recap – The FAN 590 Toronto
THE FAN presents all of the highlights (1) and Eric Smith's game recap (2) from Wednesday's 99-89 Raptors win, in which Toronto extinguished the worries about their defensive play for at least a night.
Maurizio Gherardini – The FAN 590 Toronto
The Raptors executive joins Eric prior to Wednesday night's home game against the Chicago Bulls to discuss Toronto's developing chemistry, how far into the season it would be fair to evaluate the Raptors, and Hedo Turkoglu's acclimation to his new team's style of play.
Check out the Raptors' win over the Bulls, all in just six minutes.
Andrea Bargnani – Nov. 11, 2009
Andrea Bargnani speaks with the Raptors NBA TV crew following the Raptors' win over the Bulls.
