Fred VanVleet scored 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting in his first career start in 126 NBA games, and the Toronto Raptors posted their largest road win in franchise history with a 122-83 win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
Danny Green finished with 17 points and made all seven of his shots. Serge Ibaka (16 points), Pascal Siakam (12) and Lorenzo Brown (10) also scored in double digits for the Raptors, whose 39-point margin of victory fell five points shy of their all-time high.
Antonio Blakeney led the Bulls with 13 points off the bench. Jabari Parker and Justin Holiday contributed 12 points apiece for Chicago, which dropped its fourth game in a row.
Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard did not play as the team continued its strategy to rest him on the second night of back-to-back sets. On the opposite side, Bulls guard Zach LaVine did not play because of an illness.
Toronto won its sixth straight game against Chicago and its third straight on the Bulls' home court.
Rookie Wendell Carter Jr. provided a highlight for the Bulls as he blocked a shot for the 10th straight game. The Duke product has registered a block in 16 of 17 games to start his professional career.
The Bulls trailed by 33 points entering the fourth quarter as they struggled to get to the basket. Chicago shot a paltry 34.9 percent (30 of 86) for the game, while Toronto shot 53.9 percent (48 of 89).
Toronto led 57-44 at halftime.
VanVleet quickly capitalized on his first career start and scored 10 points before the break. The former Rockford, Ill., standout drained a 3-pointer from the left corner and another from the top of the key. He also made a jump shot from the right elbow and a running layup to cap off a strong start.
Robin Lopez kept the Bulls in contention early on with nine points in his first 10 minutes. He hit a trio of sweeping hook shots to go along with a rare 3-pointer -- only his fifth basket from beyond the arc in 703 career games.
--Field Level Media
Toronto | Chicago | |
Fred VanVleet 18 | Scoring | Antonio Blakeney 13 |
Kyle Lowry 8 | Assists | Shaquille Harrison 6 |
Jonas Valanciunas 9 | Rebounds | Jabari Parker 6 |
Serge Ibaka 4 | Free Throws Made | Shaquille Harrison 5 |
Lorenzo Brown 3 | Steals | Shaquille Harrison 5 |
Serge Ibaka 4 | Blocks | Wendell Carter Jr. 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Toronto | 122 | 53.9 | 14-35 | 12-13 | 31 | 54 | 10 | 14 | 23 |
Chicago | 83 | 34.9 | 8-27 | 15-21 | 21 | 34 | 3 | 13 | 22 |