With 3:42 remaining in the third quarter of the Toronto Raptors’ Saturday matchup against the Chicago Bulls, DeMar DeRozan went to the free-throw line.
NBA scores 2016: Bulls have beaten the Raptors 10 times in a row
Chicago erased a 19-point deficit behind Jimmy Butler’s 42 points.
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Swish. Swish.
DeRozan hit both, securing his 25th point of the game and extending his Raptors’ lead to 19 just a few minutes before the end of the quarter. But for a team boasting a Hall of Famer in Dwyane Wade and a likely All-Star starter in Jimmy Butler, a quarter was more than enough time for the Bulls to make a comeback.
And comeback they did.
Chicago erased a near 20-point deficit and forced overtime where Butler hit a step-back three-pointer over Kyle Lowry to give his Bulls a 123-118 win over Toronto on Saturday.
Butler finished with 42 points on 10-for-25 shooting and scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lift Chicago to a 19-18 record on the season. He added 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. The United Center crowd certainly knew what time it was:
The Raptors’ duo did what it could. DeRozan finished with 36 points on 10-of-23 shooting. Lowry nearly recorded a triple-double, posting 27 points (7-of-17 shooting), 12 assists and nine rebounds, and Cory Joseph and Jonas Valanciunas combined for 28 points of their own.
But without Patrick Patterson (strained left knee) and usual starter Pascal Siakam (DNP — coach’s decision), Toronto struggled at their already weak power forward position. An upgrade may be necessary, and Hawks All-Star Paul Millsap is on the market.
Nevertheless, Chicago’s win over Toronto makes the Eastern Conference playoff picture interesting below the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
The No. 3 Boston Celtics are now within arms distance of a Raptors team they face next week. The Bulls are eighth in the East but are 2-1 since benching Rajon Rondo three games ago.
Chicago has now stricken down the Raptors for the 10th time in a row, a ridiculous number for a Toronto team ranking the conference’s upper echelon over the past few seasons.
But other things happened on this snowy NBA Saturday. Here’s what you missed in case you trudged out to the club in the bad weather anyway.
Russell Westbrook recorded his 17th triple-double
After a foot fracture sidelined him in September, Cameron Payne returned to Oklahoma City’s rotation on Saturday night.
That doesn’t seem like much. Payne is a reserve guard who posted modest numbers in his rookie season. But he’s also Russell Westbrook’s pregame routine partner. And neither Payne nor Westbrook missed a beat in the young guard’s first game back from injury.
Payne stopped his shenanigans after tipoff, but Westbrook danced all over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, picking up the 17th triple-double of his historic season in a 121-106 victory.
The Thunder guard recorded 32 points on 10-of-20 shooting — including an unusual hot streak of 7-of-12 on three-pointers — 17 rebounds and 11 assists, helping Oklahoma City (22-16) snap a three-game losing streak.
Rudy Gobert had Karl-Anthony Towns’ number
Karl-Anthony Towns could be an All-Star this season, but Jazz center Rudy Gobert reminded the young gun that experience trumps youth at all times:
Gobert finished with four blocks, three of which came at Towns’ expense. The athletic Utah big held Towns to just 18 points on just 5-of-13 shooting, and his Jazz came away with a 94-92 win over the Timberwolves.
Donatas Motiejunas made his Pelicans debut
After a months-long holdout with the Houston Rockets that included an offer sheet from the Brooklyn Nets, a Rockets matched offer, and a no-show for a physical, Motiejunas reminded the world that he can still hoop.
The Pelicans lost to Boston, 117-108, but it’s good to see the Lithuanian big man back on the floor.
Saturday’s top five performances
Jimmy Butler: 42 points (10-for-25 shooting), 10 rebounds, 5 assists
Anthony Davis: 36 points (14-for-22 shooting), 15 rebounds, 2 blocks
Davis keeps filling the stat sheet, but his Pelicans (14-24) have lost their last three and sit 11th in the West behind teams they should be in front of, like Denver and Sacramento.
Isaiah Thomas: 38 points (13-for-24 shooting, 6-for-11 from three), 2 steals
Thomas is continuing his campaign for his first appearance as an All-Star starter. He’s averaging just about 29 points per game, and his Celtics are in reaching distance of the Toronto Raptors for the No. 2 seed in the East.
Russell Westbrook: 32 points (10-for-20 shooting), 17 rebounds, 11 assists
Westbrook is creeping closer and closer to Oscar Robertson, who stands alone as the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double throughout an entire season. To date, the Thunder guard is averaging a triple-double.
DeMar DeRozan: 36 points (10-for-23 shooting), 8 rebounds, 2 steals
A valiant effort for DeRozan, whose Raptors have now lost four of their last six games. A change may be needed at the power forward position.
Final scores
Pacers 123, Knicks 109 [Indy Cornrows recap | Posting and Toasting recap]
Celtics 117, Pelicans 108 [Celtics Blog recap | The Bird Writes recap]
Jazz 94, Timberwolves 92 [SLC Dunk recap | Canis Hoopus recap]
Hawks 97, Mavericks 82 [Peachtree Hoops recap | Mavs Moneyball recap]
Bulls 123, Raptors 118 (OT) [Blog a Bull recap | Raptors HQ recap]
Thunder 121, Nuggets 106 [Welcome to Loud City recap | Denver Stiffs recap]
Spurs 102, Hornets 85 [Pounding the Rock recap | At the Hive recap]
Pistons vs. Trail Blazers: Postponed to Sunday due to weather
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