By Canadian Press

Anunoby powers Raptors past Bulls 121-108 to eliminate Chicago from in-season tourney

Nov 24, 2023 | 8:06 PM

TORONTO — OG Anunoby scored 26 and pulled down six rebounds as the Toronto Raptors beat Chicago 121-108 on Friday to eliminate the Bulls from the NBA’s in-season tournament.

Pascal Siakam added 18 points with a team-best eight assists as Toronto (8-8) set a franchise record by recording over 25 team assists in 12 consecutive games.

The Raptors’ previous high was a 10-game streak set Jan. 8-28, 2020.

Zach LaVine had 36 points as Chicago (5-12) dropped to 0-3 in the tourney. Former Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan had 19 points.

The Raptors were eliminated from the tournament earlier Friday when the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 113-96 to improve to 3-1.

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Toronto is 1-2 in group play and will have its final in-season tournament game on Tuesday in Brooklyn against the Nets.

Gary Trent Jr. made a 23-foot step back jumpshot to give Toronto a 36-22 lead after one quarter. He came off the bench to lead all scorers in the first with 10 points in just under seven minutes of play. He finished with 16 points.

Dennis Schroder hit two free throws for the final points of the half as the Raptors maintained their 14-point lead over Chicago, heading to intermission with a 62-48 advantage.

DeRozan had a layup to pull the Bulls to within 10 a little over two minutes into the third, forcing Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic to call timeout. 

Toronto came out swinging after the timeout, with Scottie Barnes finishing off an alley oop from Jakob Poeltl before Anunoby drained a three-pointer and a quick jumper for a seven-point lead.

The Raptors would lead by as much as 20 points in the quarter, with Pascal Siakam hitting a buzzer beater to make it 93-77 as the period expired. Siakam slid backwards on the floor as the shot went in, drawing a rousing cheer from the sold-out crowd of 19,800.

Patrick Williams’s slam dunk with 5:24 left to play capped off a 10-0 Chicago run, cutting Toronto’s lead to just seven points. Rajakovic called a full timeout in response to the Bulls’ sudden surge.

Anunoby drilled a three-pointer to break up Chicago’s run and, with all of the Raptors’ starters back on the court, they started to pull away again.

CZARFACE — Rap supergroup Czarface name-checked Siakam in a new single called “Czarchimedes’ Death Ray” that came out on Friday morning. The group includes Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck and underground hip-hop duo 7L & Esoteric. The new track also mentions fellow NBAer Kristaps Porzingis, stand-up comedian Bert Kreischer, and actress Olivia Munn.

GOLD AND BLACK — The Raptors wore gold and black jerseys to match the black, gold, grey and white court installed at Scotiabank Arena specifically for the in-season tournament games.

UP NEXT — The Raptors travel to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Sunday.

Chicago continues its road trip with a stop in Brooklyn on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2023.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press