Help can’t arrive soon enough for nosediving Raptors

CHICAGO— There may have been a sense of enthusiasm and optimism about the future with the Toronto Raptors early Tuesday, but it evaporated in another ugly loss for a rapidly declining team.

The good feelings about the needs addressed by the acquisition of Serge Ibaka vanished in a series of ghastly turnovers, listless execution and yet another loss to the Chicago Bulls.

A steady decline from about five minutes into the game until late in the third quarter marked a 105-94 loss at the United Center, the 11th straight time the Bulls have beaten the Raptors and Toronto’s 11th loss in its last 15 games this season.

Falling further out of even a home-court position for the first round of the playoffs — as if that would matter given the way they’ve been performing — the Raptors waltzed through a wretched first 30 minutes to allow the Bulls to take control.

There was an obligatory late-game run aided by some different lineups that at least provided a spark of energy, but the bad Toronto did in the first 30 minutes was far too much to overcome. The Raptors carved what was a 23-point deficit to five with about 90 seconds left, but Jimmy Butler iced the game from the freethrow line, preserving what was a wellearned Raptors defeat.

Doug McDermott led the Bulls with 20 points, Butler added 17, while Taj Gibson scored 14 on a night when the Bulls shot almost 50 per cent from the floor.

Kyle Lowry was a non-factor for about the first three quarters but finished with 22 points, while DeMar DeRozan struggled through an awful 5-for-19 shooting night and 18 points.

Patrick Patterson missed his fifth game with a bruised left knee, but he’s inching closer to a return.

Jakob Poeltl started his second game in Patterson’s place, but with the imminent arrival of Ibaka, a power forward hole has been filled.

Casey dug even further into his bag of lineup tricks late in the third quarter, using a tiny group of Lowry, Cory Joseph, DeRozan, Delon Wright and Lucas Nogueira. And the losing to the Bulls continues, as confounding at it is.