Raptors fumble lead and fall to Chicago 115-125 in overtime

No lead is safe as a stagnant fourth quarter offence costs Toronto another game on the road

The Toronto Raptors continued their road trip with a stop in the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls. Despite leading for much of the game, a rough stretch during the fourth let the momentum swing and overtime favoured the Bulls, forcing the Raptors to drop their third straight contest against Chicago this season.

Despite the win, Chicago continues to be in the doldrums of underperforming, moving pieces in an attempt to get better, but not really gaining any ground. Ranked only three spots above Toronto in the East, they were involved at the deadline, moving on from Zach Lavine and adding Collins, Huerter, and Tre Jones. Both Collins (15-13-5) and Huerter (15 points) played important minutes tonight, along with Josh Giddey (19-8-12) who they acquired during the offseason. The biggest player for Chicago was undoubtedly Coby White with 24 points, including the 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime.

The Raptors looked great on both ends of the floor for most of the game, with everyone chipping in. Notable in this contest was the strong performance of all the members of “BBQ” with Barnes finishing with 24-8-6, Barrett with 18-7-8, and Quickley with 23-5-5. The ball movement looked excellent for much of the game, as they took advantage of the weak defence at the rim by Chicago.

The biggest concern was the loss of Ochai a few minutes into the first quarter after a misstep on the foot of Orlando Robinson that caused what was later reported as a sprained ankle that would prevent him from returning to the game. With how well he has been playing defensively and his 3-point shooting, it’s a frustrating loss that hopefully won’t last too long.

Toronto opened up with possession of the ball, going to work quickly with a look by RJ who found Poeltl on a roll to the basket. Within a minute, the Bulls and Raptors exchanged fast break opportunities, demonstrating why both teams find themselves in the league’s top transition performers. Ball movement was on display too, as everyone was finding open teammates; Toronto had 10 assists in the first frame to Chicago’s 11. What created the difference was long range shots. The 3-point shooting woes that frequently plague the Raptors weren’t in effect at all, with Scottie, Quickley, Gradey, Ochai, and Shead all converting long range shots in the frame. This created a 3 point advantage to end the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Raptors continued to capitalize on the Bulls’ poor paint defence. Scottie started with a tough post move he was able to convert, which set the tone early for what to expect over the next 12 minutes. Chicago’s offence stalled periodically, and the Raptors built a double digit lead. Part of what made them so successful was the Bulls’ choice to mix in zone defence, despite the Raptors’ shooting success on the night. Zone defences aren’t an uncommon occurrence this season, especially with some of the abysmal shooting nights the Raptors have had. But if there was one night you wouldn’t want to try it, this was it giving the Raps a 9-point lead at the end of the half.

Coming out of the locker room, the Bulls rallied, led by their rookie Buzelis. They would chip away a few points, before Toronto would steady the ship and recover their lead. RJ started to come alive in the frame, taking it to the Bulls’ shaky defence in the paint and outplaying multiple defenders. He anchored a bench lineup around the halfway point in the quarter, alongside Shead, Robinson, Mogbo, and Walter and kept them productive. The close to the third was a flurry of action, with both teams trying to get out on the break. The Raptors managed to finish the quarter still up by 9 thanks to an and-one by the rookie Walter.

It didn’t take long for Quickley to help the Raptors make a statement about their perceived dominance in this matchup at the start of the final frame of the night. The tone quickly changed though as they started to coast to the end of the quarter and took their foot off the gas, allowing a 12-0 run by the Bulls. A tough, spinning, fadeaway jumper by Gradey and a tough shot at the rim by RJ kept the Raptors in the lead, but the Bulls played the clock, and a surprising foul call allowing a 4-point play by Coby White tied the game and sent it into overtime.

Extra time with Jakob on the bench due to a minutes restriction and Quickley fouling out in under 60 seconds presented a challenge too steep for the Raptors to overcome. Chicago built a 10-point victory and the clock expired, and with that, another loss for Toronto. Although, in fairness, this one stung a little bit more. Perhaps the silver lining to this is that it is better for the tank.

The Raptors now head south to Orlando, to face the shorthanded Magic in a pair of matchups on Sunday and Tuesday.