Gafford injured in Bulls' 129-102 loss to streaking Raptors
TORONTO (AP) — Terence Davis hasn't forgotten about being passed over for a spot in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend. Even so, the Toronto Raptors rookie is just happy he's playing for a contender.
Davis came off the bench to score a career-high 31 points and the Raptors tied a team record with their 11th straight win, beating the Chicago Bulls 129-102.
Toronto also won 11 straight in January 2016 and again from Feb. 26-March 16, 2018.
Pascal Siakam added 17 points, Serge Ibaka had 16, Chris Boucher 15 and Kyle Lowry 14 for the reigning NBA champions. The Raptors outscored the Bulls 69-39 in the second half to win their 12th consecutive meeting with Chicago.
Davis made a career-high 12 of his 15 field goal attempts, including six of seven from 3-point range.
“The ball was going in, so I kept shooting,” Davis said.
Davis is the sixth rookie in Raptors history to score at least 30 in a game, and the first to do it as a reserve.
“He's reaping some of the benefits of all his hard work," coach Nick Nurse said.
Davis said the All-Star snub was “definitely in the back of my mind,” but insisted he's content with the Raptors, who are second in the East.
“I'm not saying I wouldn't want to play in the game, because it's a special event, but I would rather play in the playoffs,” Davis said.
An undrafted rookie from the University of Mississippi, Davis had scored 23 points twice this season, most recently against Washington on Jan. 17. He surpassed that mark with a 13-point fourth quarter, and received a hug from Lowry when he checked out with 3:12 remaining.
“It just shows you what type of team this is,” Davis said. “We all love each other, we care for each other, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, honestly.”
Thaddeus Young fouled out with 21 points and Zach LaVine had 18 as Toronto swept Chicago for the third straight season.
Chandler Hutchison scored 17 points, and Ryan Arcidiacono and Coby White each had 12 for the Bulls, who are 8-18 on the road.
The Raptors were without guard Norman Powell, who broke the ring finger on his left hand in Friday's win at Detroit. Center March Gasol missed his third straight game because of a sore left hamstring. Both players are out indefinitely.
“With Norm being out, (Davis) is going to have an opportunity,” Lowry said. “He's got to take advantage of it.”
Bulls guard Kris Dunn missed his first game of the season, with Hutchison starting in his place. Coach Jim Boylen said Dunn has been diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Dunn was injured on the first possession of Friday's loss at Brooklyn. He flew back to Chicago Saturday to be evaluated by team doctors.
Bulls forward Daniel Gafford didn't return after suffering an apparent injury on an awkward fall in the first quarter, but Boylen said afterward that Gafford was OK. Gafford had missed the previous nine games because of a dislocated right thumb.
Chicago led 63-60 at halftime, but Toronto reclaimed the lead with a 17-4 run over the first five minutes of the third.
“We dropped our heads a little bit in that third when the ball wasn't going in and they made their run,” Boylen said.
Siakam scored nine points in the third and Ibaka had eight as the Raptors took a 95-85 lead to the fourth.
“We threw it away,” a disappointed LaVine said. “Same story we do most of the games we lead at halftime.”
BUCKS 129, SUNS 108
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 19 rebounds, and the Bucks overcame Devin Booker's 32 points to beat the Suns.
Antetokounmpo reached the 30-point mark for the 26th time and has had at least 10 rebounds in 23 of those games. He fell one assist shy of his fifth triple-double this season for the second straight game.
Fellow All-Star Khris Middleton had 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Brook Lopez had 17 points. The
Bucks shot 49.5% and made 15 of 38 from 3-point range.
DeAndre Ayton had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Suns, who shot 39% and made just 6 of 23 from deep. Phoenix has lost five of seven games.
PISTONS 128, NUGGETS 123, OT
DETROIT (AP) — Andre Drummond had 21 points and 17 rebounds, and the Pistons rallied from an early 21-point deficit to beat the Nuggets, snapping their five-game losing streak.
Reggie Jackson added 20 points and Bruce Brown scored 19 for Detroit. Drummond put the Pistons ahead to stay with a dunk early in overtime, and Brown added a 3-pointer that made it 116-112.
Drummond fouled out with 2:43 left, but Detroit was able to hold on.
Nikola Jokic had 39 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Denver. His 3-pointer with 29.4 seconds left made it 126-123, but Thon Maker answered with an alley-oop dunk at the other end to push the lead to five.