With Santa in attendance at Scotiabank Arena, the Toronto Raptors fell to the Chicago Bulls 122-121 Monday night.
It was Toronto’s fifth straight loss, dropping the team to 7-20, fourth-worst in the NBA. The Raps made it close towards the end when it didn’t seem like that was possible. The team trailed by 16 with around 8:30 left in the fourth quarter before bringing it within one point inside the final two minutes.
They got back into this game largely thanks to the spark that rookie Jamal Shead provided. Not checking in until the fourth quarter, Shead was fantastic once he did get in. The 45th overall pick scored or assisted on 25 of the Raptors’ 37 pts in the final frame, sparking a 16-6 run to get the team within one. Shead finished with 10 points, six assists, four rebounds, one steal, in only 12 minutes.
A player who played and played well from start to finish was RJ Barrett. The Mississauga, Ontario native continued his dominance at home, scoring 32 points, nine assists, five rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. That marked Barrett’s eighth 30-point game, with it being his seventh at home.
The de facto point guard once again tonight, the Canadian continued to show off his passing prowess, as his playmaking has really taken a step up this season.
Gradey Dick was also great while finishing strong, helping mount the almost comeback. The second-year sharpshooter put up 27 points, six rebounds, and two assists while being a team-high +15. Dick cashed in three times from deep and was a big part of keeping the Raps afloat.
Another player of note was Chris Boucher, who checked into the first quarter after three straight DNPs. The Montreal, Quebec native finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and a block, posting his first double-double since Mar. 23, 2023.
Toronto is now 0-17 when trailing by double digits in a game, with eight of those 17 games becoming single-digit losses. That has resulted in the Raptors covering the spread in a large number of games, 18-8-1 to be exact, which is the second-best in the association only behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-8). The team was also underdogs for the 27th straight time, every game this season.
Canada’s team has also now lost 32 straight games when trailing at the half, with the last time they led in this one is when the score was 9-8.
After the Raps played nine games in 16 days, this was only their second in the last nine, and they came out like it. Toronto looked sloppy and wasn’t comfortable with the speed of the game, with Chicago living up to being second in the league in pace. The Raps started 1-10 from deep, and overall, the Bulls played with more intensity, gusto, and were more alert throughout.
There was also unfortunate injury news. With players like Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and Zach LaVine already on the shelf coming into the game, both teams got even more hurt. First, Bulls guard Josh Giddey turned an ankle contesting a Dick three before Jakob Poeltl took a hard slip straining his groin. Both players would not return to the game.
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