• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Bulls try to improve East's best home record

Feb 13, 2007 - 4:53 PM Toronto (27-24) at Chicago (29-23) 8:30 pm EST

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Chicago Bulls are glad to be home, even if they are playing one of the hottest teams in the league.

Coming off a 3-4 road trip, the Bulls hope to improve on the Eastern Conference's best home record when they take on the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday.

After winning 16 in a row in the series from February 28, 1999 to December 18, 2002, the Raptors have lost 15 straight contests against the Bulls, including the first two meetings this season.

Chicago plays six of its next nine games at the United Center, where it holds the conference's top mark at 20-6. It was not as easy on the road for the Bulls, who snapped a three-game losing streak with a 116-103 win over undermanned Phoenix on Sunday.

Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng scored 29 points apiece and Ben Gordon added 27 for Chicago, which took advantage of the absence of two-time MVP Steve Nash. The Bulls have won three straight and five of their last six at home.

It will not be easy against the first-place Raptors, who are 2 1/2 games ahead of New Jersey in the woeful Atlantic Division. Toronto has won five of its last six games and is over .500 this late in the season for the first time since finishing 42-40 in 2001-2002 - the last time the franchise reached the playoffs.

On Saturday, however, Toronto had its five-game winning streak snapped when it suffered a 98-92 loss at Detroit. All-Star Chris Bosh, who is having an MVP-caliber season, was held to just 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting. T.J. Ford collected 17 points and 11 assists.