Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan, left, shoots over Taj Gibson of the Chicago Bulls at the Air Canada Centre on Jan. 03. DeRozan led Toronto with 24 points, but the Raptors lost to the Bulls in a nail-biter.<252>Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
Just when it looked as though the Toronto Raptors were on course to beat the Chicago Bulls for the first time in two years, Jimmy Butler ripped it away with a performance that broke a long-standing Michael Jordan record.
The Bulls visited Toronto on Sunday afternoon, having won the past six consecutive meetings with the Raptors, including one the previous week in Chicago. The Bulls were missing Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, and at times trailed the Raptors by as much as 15. But Butler took the team on his shoulders, scoring 42 points – 40 of them in the second half to eclipse Jordan's franchise record for points in a half – as Chicago beat Toronto in a nail-biter, 115-113.
The two teams were tied at 29 on Sunday after the first quarter before the Raptors pulled well ahead in the second. After shooting less than 40 per cent from the field in their past two outings, the Raptors shot 52 per cent in the first half Sunday and took a commanding 60-48 lead into the locker room.
Butler had scored just two points in the entire first half and absorbed a hard elbow to the mouth from Toronto's DeMarre Carroll on a layup, which sent the Bull to the locker room with medical staff.
"He didn't do it on purpose, but it does mess up my swagger so I can't go on a date for a while," Butler said after the game. "I needed one stitch. I was mad, yeah. I came out aggressive after that."
Butler was hitting everything from free throws to floating jumpers to layups, and three-pointers, including a dagger in Carroll's face for a four-point play that would seize the Bulls a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"It was an incredible performance … scoring 40 in a half isn't something you see every day," said his Bulls teammate, Pau Gasol. "He did it on both ends, which to me is more impressive. He wasn't guarding players who were non-threats offensively; he was chasing around DeMar DeRozan and at times Kyle Lowry."
After shooting less than 40 per cent themselves in their past two games, Toronto shot 45.7 per cent on Sunday. The Raptors were angry to give up 33 points to the Bulls in the third quarter and 34 in the fourth. Butler had them stumped.
"We tried everybody and everything," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "We couldn't get him stopped."
The Bulls' big men were also troublesome down low. Gasol had 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Nikola Mirotic added 17 points.
DeRozan led Toronto with 24 points, while Lowry and Luis Scola each had 22.
It's the fourth-straight win for Chicago. The result tightens things atop the Eastern Conference where the Bulls (20-12) now sit 2 1/2 games back of the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Raptors (21-14) are now three games back.
Butler now holds the Bulls' record for points in a half, previously set by Jordan in 1989 (39 points in the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks).
"I don't want to be compared to [Jordan]; just look at what he's done for the game," said Butler, fittingly wearing an Air Jordan sweatshirt. "Don't compare me to him; I'm trying, but I'm nowhere near that."
Toronto has not beaten Chicago since Dec. 31, 2013.
That ended the Raptors' three-game home stand, and they won't play at the Air Canada Centre again until Jan. 18. They are in the midst of 13 in a row against Eastern Conference opponents. They head out on a five-game road trip that begins Monday night versus LeBron James and Cavaliers, and will conclude with a game against the Orlando Magic staged at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Rachel Brady