Chicago Bulls (32-18, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Toronto Raptors (26-23, eighth in the Eastern Conference)
Toronto; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: DeMar DeRozan leads Chicago into a matchup with Toronto. He's fifth in the NBA scoring 26.5 points per game.
The Raptors are 18-14 in Eastern Conference games. Toronto is sixth in the Eastern Conference in team defense, allowing just 106.5 points while holding opponents to 46.0% shooting.
The Bulls are 21-11 against conference opponents. Chicago ranks sixth in the Eastern Conference with 24.3 assists per game led by DeRozan averaging 5.0.
The teams square off for the third time this season. The Bulls won the last meeting 111-105 on Jan. 27. DeRozan scored 29 points to help lead the Bulls to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Fred VanVleet is averaging 21.5 points, seven assists and 1.7 steals for the Raptors. Gary Trent Jr. is averaging 5.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Toronto.
DeRozan is averaging 26.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and five assists for the Bulls. Nikola Vucevic is averaging 19.3 points over the last 10 games for Chicago.
LAST 10 GAMES: Raptors: 6-4, averaging 108.4 points, 43.7 rebounds, 23.0 assists, 9.7 steals and 5.8 blocks per game while shooting 44.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.1 points per game.
Bulls: 5-5, averaging 112.0 points, 43.1 rebounds, 25.7 assists, 5.6 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 48.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.2 points.
INJURIES: Raptors: Khem Birch: out (nose), Goran Dragic: out (personal).
Bulls: Patrick Williams: out (left wrist), Derrick Jones Jr.: out (finger), Alex Caruso: out (wrist), Lonzo Ball: out (knee).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by
