(Toronto) Pascal Siakam scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors beat the Chicago Bulls 101-96 on Tuesday.
Point guard Fred VanVleet had just three points but had nine assists and six rebounds in his return with the Raptors. VanVleet had missed his team’s three previous games following the birth of his third child.
OG Anunoby added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors, while Gary Trent Jr. contributed 19 points and Jakob Poeltl 14.
For the Bulls, Nikola Vucevic scored 23 points and Zach LaVine added 17 points. Former Raptors star DeMar DeRozan had 13 points.
Trent hit a long three-pointer with 43 seconds left in the first quarter and the Raptors led 24-23 at the end of the period.
The second quarter was dominated by the Bulls, who led by six points with 2:05 left at the half. But a stride shot from Poeltl and two free throws from Siakam saw the Raptors cut the Bulls’ lead to 46-44 before the break.
The Raptors regained the lead in the third quarter, then both teams played cat-and-mouse until late in the fourth quarter.
Trent’s fifth three-pointer gave the Raptors a 91-84 lead with 6:35 left. They were able to protect their lead until the end of the game.