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Balanced Raptors beat Bulls

Dec 15, 2013 - 5:48 AM Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Raptors used a balanced effort to send the Chicago Bulls to their fourth loss in five games with a 99-77 win from United Center.

Kyle Lowry paced five Raptors in double figures with 16 points and Jonas Valanciunas netted 15 points with 11 rebounds and four blocks for Toronto, winners in two straight.

DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson scored 15 and 14, respectively, while newcomer Patrick Patterson added 12 points. The Raptors are 3-1 since trading Rudy Gay to Sacramento.

"Everyone contributed. The bench was huge. We have a bench where guys can come in, hold strong and increase the lead. They were huge in that respect," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey.

Luol Deng contributed 17 points in the losing effort and Mike Dunleavy added 14 points, shooting 1-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Joakim Noah registered a double-double for the Bulls with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bulls never led in this contest and trailed 73-66 heading into the fourth quarter following a Marquis Teague 3-pointer that he banked in with 42.6 seconds left in the third.

"They (Toronto) made a lot of tough shots tonight," said Teague. "You can't take any credit away from them, they fought hard."

Newly acquired D.J. Augustin knocked down a triple to open the final frame and pulled the Bulls within four. The Raptors, though, scored six straight to run the lead back to double digits.

Carlos Boozer, who scored eight points on 4-of-18 shooting, hit a jumper with 5:23 to go in regulation to keep it a 10-point deficit.

Johnson then scored five straight which ignited a 13-1 burst to end the game and the Raptors coasted to the win.

Chicago went 0-for-6 from the field since the Boozer jumper and shot a dreadful 21.1 percent from the field in the fourth.

Both teams played a close opening period with five ties with Toronto leading by as many as six. The Raptors brought a 24-21 lead into the second after a John Salmons 3-pointer capped the scoring.

Toronto closed the second quarter on an 8-2 run thanks to Lowry, who buried a triple with a second left on the clock to push the advantage to 51-41 at the break.

Game Notes

Jimmy Butler scored 11 points in the setback ... The 77 points is the least amount allowed by Toronto this season ... Teague set a career-high with three blocks ... The Raptors host Charlotte on Wednesday ... Chicago welcomes Orlando to the United Center on Monday.