Chicago’s bench lifts Bulls over Raptors

Darius Songaila added 19 points and Andres Nocioni tallied 11, both off the bench, as Chicago’s reserves outscored Toronto’s bench, 69-29. The Bulls, who shot 50.6 percent, have beaten the Raptors 12 straight times. They’ve won two straight overall.

Duhon and Songaila combined to shoot 16-of-24 from the field, and Duhon missed just two of his eight three-point attempts.

"We take pride by being called upon," Duhon said. "When we get our number called, we have to go out there and perform and help out the starters."

Chris Bosh had 20 points and seven rebounds to pace Toronto, which has dropped three in a row and five of six. Mike James tallied 19 points and seven assists, while Jalen Rose had 13 points.

A huge first quarter run put the Bulls ahead for good, although the Raptors made a charge in the third. A Morris Peterson free throw extended Toronto to a 9-5 lead, but Chicago responded with an 18-2 burst. Songaila capped the run with a reverse layup and jumper.

Chicago led 28-16 after 12 minutes and was ahead 56-41 at the break, as Toronto shot just 27.5 percent in the first half.

However, the Raptors used a 20-6 push in the third to get within 67-63 following a Bosh one-handed alley-oop slam off a pass from James.

Duhon quickly countered with a three-pointer and the Bulls widened their lead to 77-66 going into the fourth. A Jannero Pargo three and Songaila layup extended the margin to 88-70 with 8:28 remaining, and the Raptors failed to get closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Luol Deng and Tyson Chandler each had 11 points for the Bulls. Chandler also had eight rebounds...Matt Bonner scored 11 for the Raptors, who finished the game at a 37.2 percent clip from the field, including 5-of-17 from three-point range...Late in the first half, Peterson and Raptors teammate Jose Calderon got into a small shoving match on the bench. Peterson called it a little "brotherly love and veteran leadership."