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Gordon, Deng lead Bulls past Raptors

Dec 30, 2006 - 7:05 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Ben Gordon and Luol Deng helped the Chicago Bulls pick up a rare road win.

Deng scored 25 points and Gordon added 22 off the bench to lead the Bulls to a 107-97 triumph over the Toronto Raptors.

The Bulls held an 82-76 advantage after three quarters and used a 16-6 run which was capped by Chris Duhon's 3-pointer with 7:03 remaining to put away the game.

"This is a big win for us, especially having Cleveland at home tomorrow, so we really needed this one," Gordon said. "I thought we did a good job of moving the ball. Guys were knocking their shots down, and anytime we're doing that, we're good."

Kirk Hinrich scored 16 points for Chicago, which shot 59.7 percent (43-of-72), including 8-of-14 from the arc. The Bulls, who had lost their previous two road games, improved to 5-10 away from the United Center this season.

"That was a huge road win for us," Hinrich said. "We've been struggling on the road and it's definitely big for us to get this win."

Deng, who injured his right wrist when fouled by Miami's James Posey on Wednesday, scored 19 points in the second half.

"I really started taking shots to keep (the wrist) loose and it felt good," Deng said. "The guys set good screens for my mid-range and I was just in a good rhythm, especially in the third quarter."

Toronto pulled within six points on Morris Peterson's 3-pointer with 2:38 to play but was unable to get any closer.

"It seems like they didn't miss the open shots and we contested some shots they made," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. "We didn't shoot the ball well. We turned the ball over too much, but our guys played hard."

T.J. Ford scored 20 points and Joey Graham added 17 for the Raptors, who shot 41 percent (35-of-86) from the floor.

"We played really well in the first quarter and moved the ball really well, and then starting in the second quarter, we didn't move the ball as well and our play went down the rest of the game," Ford said. "They played a good pick-and-roll and they have good shooters and shot the ball well."

The Bulls held the Raptors to just 14 points in the second quarter and entered the break with a 54-46 lead.

Chicago has won 15 consecutive games against Toronto. The Bulls' last loss to the Raptors came on December 6, 2002.

"We always seem to play well against them," Gordon said. "We seem to have our way defensively and on the offensive end. We do a good job of carving them up and giving guys easy shots."