Post Game Report Card: Toronto Raptors comeback falls short, leading to Bulls season sweep

The Toronto Raptors lost 109-107 to the Chicago Bulls, suffering a season sweep (0-4) to a potential playoff matchup.

After the Raptors cut it to 108-107 with 7.7 left in the game, they sent Jimmy Butler to the the free throw line where he went 1-2 with 5.9 seconds left. DeMar DeRozan tried driving to the rim to tie the game, but he lost the ball out of bounds after making contact with Butler.

The Bulls, the current 8th seed in the East, held a lead over the Raptors for the majority of the game. Doug McDermott had another big performance against Toronto, with 29 points on 9-11 shooting from the field. Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 33 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists on 50 per cent shooting, but was unable to carry them to victory.

Offence: C

There wasn’t much to the Raptors offence tonight, except for Lowry carrying the load the entire game so they had a chance to compete near the end. The only time the Raptors held the lead was when Lowry drove to the rim to put them up 2-0. He also had this incredible layup in that first quarter.

Lowry is faster than you. #RTZ https://t.co/gAKRYNf785

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 15, 2016

A devastating blow to the first quarter was when Jonas Valanciunas had to leave the game because of injuring his left game, after starting the matchup 3-3 from the field. He is reported to be fine, with only a contusion.

The rest of the Raptors offence wasn’t able to produce as efficiently as they needed to to beat the Bulls, shooting 44.5 per cent from the field and 6-20 from 3-point land. DeRozan scored 23 points by making 45.4 per cent of his attempts, while Patrick Patterson was the only other Raptors player to join him and Lowry in double digits, with 13 points off the bench.

PATMAN. #RTZ https://t.co/eXazeHtsWs

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 15, 2016

Defence: C

The Bulls were without Pau Gasol, Derrick Rose, and Mike Dunleavy, JR, but the Raptors still allowed them to score 109 points.

McDermott lit up the Bulls offence to start the game, scoring 24 points in the first half. He came one short of tying his career high, a record that he set while beating the Raptors on February 19, with a 30-point showcase.

The Raptors weren’t able to stop the Bulls for a long enough stretch to be able to take over the lead, instead they allowed five of their players to score in double digits. E’Twaun Moore played well while filling in Rose at the point guard position, scoring 18 points on 8-11 shooting, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

Bismack Biyombo contributed 6 blocks for the Raptors, but didn’t have the biggest defensive impact, finishing the game with a -10 plus/minus. Toronto Raptors global ambassador, Drake also provided his fair share of defence late in the game to help the Raptors cause a 5-second violation.

Drake treating Justin Holiday like Meek Mill on this 5 second violation https://t.co/Ux1UloJ6GI

— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) March 15, 2016

Rebounding: A

The only reason why this game wasn’t a blow out, was because the Raptors were able to put their energy on the offensive glass. The Raptors grabbed 10 offensive boards, helping them create 9 second chance points.

Overall they beat the Bulls 42-38, a great accomplishment considering Chicago is the second best rebounding team in the league, averaging 47.4 boards a contest.

Lowry led the Raptors with 11 rebounds, while Biyombo and Patterson finished with 6 each. Taj Gibson was the only Bulls player to reach double digits in rebounds, collecting 10 boards on his way to a double-double.

Game Ball: Taj Gibson 

Gibson was the firepower the Chicago Bulls fuelled themselves with on their way to a season sweep against the Raptors.

He scored 13 points, grabbed 5 offensive rebounds, and collected a steal and a block. His presence made the Raptors work for every point they earned down low, and helped Chicago not miss a beat with Gasol’s absence.

Gibson’s biggest play was when he ran into Lowry with 25.8 seconds left, right before Luis Scola was going to drive for an easy layup to cut the score to 106-104. Instead, Lowry went to the free throw line, where he went 1-2.

All stats for this article are from NBA.com

You can follow Bryan Meler on Twitter @BryanMelo97