Submitted by National Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

The Chicago Bulls evened their 1-1 record with a big win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night at the United Center.

Here are 10 notes from Al-Nassr:

DeMar DeRozan and Alex Corso played the heroes. DeRozan scored 18 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and Caruso made several defensive plays down the stretch before hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in transition on a great feed from Zach LaVine after Caruso blocked Pascal Siakam at the other end. end.

It’s all been an offensive effort over two games, especially in the half court. The Bulls had multiple possessions where they had trouble even completing passes. Add poor shooting and you get an ugly result. The Bulls scored six points in the first 7:12 of the fourth quarter and shot 37.4 percent overall, including 20 percent from 3-point range.

DeRozan single-handedly wanted the Bulls back to life. DeRozan used his fake magic to repeatedly go to the free-throw line, but missed the third of three free throws with 12.7 seconds left to tie the game — plus a traffic back-up in the ensuing scramble — and the go-ahead layup with 0.7 seconds left From the end of the game after Caruso took a shot from Pascal Siakam on the inbounds ball.

The Raptors opened the second half with an 11-0 run to extend the run that started in the second quarter to 23-0. The slow start to both halves, not to mention the slow start on Wednesday, immediately draws focus to the fit of the starting lineup. While it would be a huge surprise if coach Billy Donovan makes a change this early in the season on Saturday night in Detroit, it’s a story to watch moving forward.

Zach LaVine endured his second straight rough night. After shooting 4-for-16 in the opener, LaVine shot 3-for-14 and finished with 23 on the night. LaVine also took the floor for warmups in the second half wearing a wrap and a pad on his lower back.

Patrick Williams exited at 8 minutes, 29 seconds of the third quarter and did not play again. Williams played just 13 minutes, shooting 1-for-5 and adding three rebounds and two steals. Backup Torrey Craig played 23 minutes.

Craig arrived at the United Center wearing a Dennis Rodman jersey and then did his best Worm impersonation by creating extra possessions and attacking the offensive glass. The Bulls finished 28th^y In offensive rebounds and 30^y In second chance points last season. Craig had three offensive rebounds as the Bulls finished with 24 second-chance points.

Nikola Vucevic equaled his eight goal attempts from the last game in the first half alone. He finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds on 4-for-15 shooting. He’s clearly become the main story since Wednesday’s season opener when he and Donovan had a heated argument in the third quarter over Vucevic’s frustration with the offense. But it wasn’t about shots or even touches, it was just about offensive stagnation. However, the Bulls made a concerted effort to exploit Vucevic’s mismatches often, especially when Jakob Poeltl played just 10 minutes in the first half with three fouls.

In terms of that rough start, the Bulls missed their first five shots, including two three-point attempts each from Coby White and Williams, and made two turnovers. Worse still, they failed to get out of transition after forcing two Raptors turnovers, leaving them stagnant in the half-court. Donovan burned his first timeout just 3 minutes after the Raptors took an 8-0 lead. DeRozan scored in a timeout on the drive. But that did not stop the bleeding. The Raptors took a 16-4 lead and Donovan went to Craig and Alex Caruso early, stunning LaVine in the second set again. These moves, combined with White pulling a charge as part of a strong stretch, completely flipped the script. Until an OG Anunoby dunk narrowly beat the first-quarter buzzer, the Bulls enjoyed 20-0 control. Caruso took two counts. Craig created three additional possessions on offensive rebounds or tips, one leading to his own 3-pointer. White also scored four points and fed Vucevic for the traditional three-point play during the round.

DeRozan ensured a better effort. He didn’t come early. The Bulls endured a poor start before tightening their defensive grip and posting a dominant 20-0 run to put things right. DeRozan is not one to use idle words or make empty promises. He said the Bulls will give a better effort because he saw their practical response to Wednesday’s disastrous loss in the season opener. Effort wasn’t the issue, especially on the defensive end. It was implementation. The Bulls committed 17 turnovers.

Click here to follow the Bulls Talk Podcast.