Raptors-Chicago Bulls: Sunday game preview

Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams.

Butler scored 40 points in the second half Sunday to break Michael Jordan’s record for points in a half by a Bull, propelling Chicago to a 115-113 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Jordan, perhaps the greatest player of all time, had 39 points, also in the second half, in a game against Milwaukee in 1989.

Butler was hitting everything from free throws to floating jumpers to layups, and three-pointers, including a dagger in Carroll’s face for a four-point play that would seize the Bulls a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Chicago Bulls stayed hot as they dominated the fourth quarter on their way to a 108-81 win over the New York Knicks on Friday. “I don’t want to be compared to him because you’ve seen what he’s done for this game”, a smiling Butler said. “(Coach Fred Hoiberg) tries to get him minutes at the position he thinks he can.

“I’m just trying to get my All-Star ratings up”, said Whiteside, who was 12 of 16 from the field.

Butler’s explosion is all the more impressive, seeing as how he had to get stitches at halftime after he took a Carroll elbow to the teeth in the second quarter.

“Don’t compare me to him”, Butler said of the G.O.A.T. “That’s exactly what I said [when I found out]”. Cory Joseph had nine points off the bench during the quarter. “But it’s our last home game for two weeks, and then we come back and we’ve got two straight weeks here, so we just worry about the road right now and not worry about home”.

Toronto guard Kyle Lowry earned his second straight double-double and fifth of the season with 22 points and a game-high 10 assists.

“Shots went in”, Butler said of his second half.

It was a sorry loss for the Raptors, which had a double-digit lead, 103-91 with 5:45 to go in the game but was outscored 24-10 in the final half of the final quarter as they had a two-game winning streak snapped. The rookie earned a double-double, coming up with 16 points and 10 rebounds. During a 123-122 overtime win against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 9, Towns posted 26 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.

Luis Scola had 22 points for Toronto, as did Lowry on a tough 8-for-22 shooting night.

Derrick Rose sat out his third straight game with a right hamstring injury, although Hoiberg said, “it is definitely getting better”. Toronto is following a trend in which it wins when it holds the opponent to fewer than 100 points and loses whenever allowing triple digits.