CHICAGO— Pascal Siakam scored 19 points, OG Anunoby added 17 and the Toronto Raptors spoiled Chicago’s home opener by beating the Bulls 108-84 on Saturday night.
Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) scores against the Chicago Bulls during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday Oct. 26, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo / Matt Marton)
The defending NBA champions went on a run in the second quarter to take a 48-40 halftime lead and pulled away for their 10th straight win over the cold-shooting Bulls.
Anunoby hit three 3-pointers, and Serge Ibaka added 18 points and seven rebounds. Fred VanVleet scored 16 as the Raptors shook off a loss Friday in Boston.
The Bulls see themselves as playoff contenders coming off a 22-60 season that ranked among the worst in franchise history. But they hardly looked the part, shooting just 30.2% overall and 9 of 35 on 3s.
Wendell Carter Jr. led Chicago with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Zach LaVine scored 11 after averaging 26.5 over the first two games. Lauri Markkanen struggled again, finishing with nine points for the second straight night. The 7-footer from Finland shot 3 of 10 after going 4 for 15 in a loss at Memphis.
It didn’t help Chicago that Otto Porter Jr. missed most of the second quarter after taking what appeared to be an inadvertent elbow to the face while drawing a charge against Stanley Johnson.
Porter spent several minutes lying face down as blood poured out, leaving a puddle on the court. He went straight to the locker room with the team’s medical staff to get stitches and returned to start the second half.
By then, the Raptors led by eight after outscoring Chicago 17-4 over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the second quarter.
Marc Gasol and Kyle Lowry hit consecutive 3s.
Anunoby added another from beyond the arc to bump it to 62-46 with 7:47 left in the third, and the Raptors remained in control the rest of the way.
Spurs edge Wizards behind Demar DeRozan’s clutch shot
San Antonio Spurs’ DeMar DeRozan (10) goes up for the game-winning basket as he is defended by Washington Wizards’ Thomas Bryant (13) and Rui Hachimura during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, in San Antonio. San Antonio won 124-122. (AP Photo / Darren Abate)
In San Antonio, DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points, including the game-winning basket in heavy traffic in the final seconds, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Washington Wizards 124-122 on Saturday night.
Davis Bertans, traded from San Antonio to Washington in the offseason, made all five of his 3-point attempts and scored 23 points against his former team.
The Spurs recorded their 20th straight home victory over Washington with some late heroics.
Using a screen by LaMarcus Aldridge near midcourt, DeRozan drove to the basket and spun in a layup between Rui Hachiumra and Thomas Bryant, putting the Spurs up with 5.5 second remaining.
Bradley Beal attempted to force overtime with a driving layup, but Derrick White blocked his shot and grabbed the ball as the buzzer sounded.
Aldridge led the Spurs with 27 points. Dejounte Murray had 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and Bryn Forbes added 16 points.
Beal had 25 points and Hachimura added 16 points for the Wizards.
Hachimura was stripped of the ball on a drive to the basket and had it go out of bounds off his left knee with the Wizards up 112-109 with 5 minutes remaining.
The Spurs then went on a 7-2 run before Bertans hit his fifth 3-pointer, tying the game at 118-all.
The biggest lead of the game was nine points, by the Spurs in the second quarter.