Taj Gibson Returns As Bulls Dominate Raptors, 108-88
CHICAGO (AP) -- Nikola Mirotic matched a career high with 29 points to propel the Chicago Bulls to a 108-92 victory Friday night over the Toronto Raptors, who were without All-Star guard Kyle Lowry.
Joakim Noah had 10 rebounds, equaled a career high with 14 assists and scored eight points to come within one basket of a triple-double, while Mike Dunleavy had 21 points for Chicago.
The Bulls pulled a half-game ahead of the Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference. They also took a 3-0 lead in the season series, assuring them the edge in any potential playoff tiebreaker.
DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 27, while Patrick Patterson had 17. Starting in place of Lowry, Greivis Vasquez had 11. Lowry dressed, but didn't play after bruising his back against Minnesota on Wednesday night.
Mirotic continued his strong March. Heading into Friday, Mirotic was averaging 20.8 points and 8.2 rebounds this month, and he scored at least 20 for the sixth time in March.
The Bulls, who won their second straight and third of five despite playing without Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, stayed in their offensive groove against Toronto. They entered Friday averaging 114.5 points per game against the Raptors and stayed near that pace by shooting 53.2 percent from the field with 32 assists.
Things didn't go as well for the Raptors, who couldn't win their third straight. Lowry is averaging 18.1 points and 6.9 assists for the season and he was missed by Toronto, as the Raptors shot 38 percent from the floor.
Chicago, meanwhile, got a contribution from someone who hadn't played all month.
In his first game since spraining his left ankle Feb. 27 against the Timberwolves, Bulls forward Taj Gibson had six points and three rebounds in 10 minutes. The trusted reserve missed Chicago's previous 10 games and played Friday after testing the ankle during pregame warmups, checking in for the first time with 4:03 left in the first.
Gibson made an immediate impact, dunking after a lob pass from Pau Gasol with 3:33 left in the opening quarter. Later in the first, he threw down a one-handed slam with 55.9 seconds to go in a period that ended with Chicago up 32-24 on a one-handed leaner by Mirotic.
That was just one of Mirotic's first-half highlights. He scored 15 during the first 24 minutes, helping Chicago take a 60-48 lead into halftime as the Bulls had 26 baskets on 20 assists, capped off by Dunleavy's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Toronto then trailed by as many as 21 in the third quarter.
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