VanVleet has 30 points and 11 assists as Raptors beat Bulls

Updated Nov. 6, 2022 8:24 p.m. ET

Associated Press

TORONTON (AP) — Fred VanVleet returned from injury with season highs of 30 points and 11 assists, Scottie Barnes had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors overcame the absence of leading scorer Pascal Siakam to beat the Chicago Bulls 113-104 on Sunday.

VanVleet returned after missing three games because of a sore lower back.

O.G. Anunoby scored 22 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 12 and Christian Koloko added a career-high 11.

Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Alex Caruso had 11 rebounds and 11 assists and DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points for the Bulls, who lost their second straight.

Chicago guard Goran Dragic matched his season high with 16 points, Ayo Dosunmu scored 15 and Patrick Williams had 13.

Siakam is expected to miss at least two weeks because of a strained right adductor muscle. Siakam was injured when slipped in the third quarter of Friday’s loss at Dallas. He was helped off the court and did not return.

Zach LaVine sat for the Bulls, who host Toronto on Monday night in the second game of this back-to-back.

LaVine, who had left knee surgery in the offseason, sat out the first two games of the season and missed the first game of a back-to-back in late October.

Chicago trailed 100-99 after a dunk by Williams with 4:23 left to play, but VanVleet converted a three-point play and Anunoby scored on a driving dunk after stealing Caruso’s pass to give the Raptors a 105-99 edge with 3:47 to go.

DeRozan’s three-point play with 2:01 to go made it 107-102, but dunks from Barnes and Anunoby, the second off a bad pass from DeRozan, extended Toronto’s lead to 111-102.

Chicago had 17 turnovers, leading to 23 points for Toronto.

Vucevic had eight points and six rebounds in the first quarter as Chicago led 30-21 after one.

Chicag led 36-33 after a 3-pointer by Williams one minute into the second quarter, but Toronto rallied to take a 52-49 lead on a 3-pointer by VanVleet with 1:40 left in the half. VanVleet scored 11 points in the second as the Raptors led 55-59 at the break.

DeRozan scored five points and Dragic hit consecutive 3-pointers as the Bulls closed the third quarter with an 11-2 spurt, cutting the gap to 83-82.

TIP-INS

Bulls: C Andre Drummond (left shoulder) sat for the fifth straight game, while G Coby White (left quadriceps) missed his fourth straight. … Vucevic had six assists. … LaVine did play on consecutive days last week, and three times in four days, logging a season-high 37 minutes against Brooklyn in the first game of those three.

Raptors: C Khem Birch (right knee) was out for the second straight game. … Koloko had four blocks in the first quarter, one more than his previous single game career-high. He finished with six. … VanVleet shot 7 for 7 at the free throw line.

EARLY CHALLENGE

Toronto coach NIck Nurse successfully challenged a foul call on VanVleet with 10:22 left in the first quarter.

UP NEXT

Bulls: Host Toronto Monday night.

Raptors: Visit Chicago Monday night.

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