2 for 1: Raptors go Jurassic on the Bulls; Pacers, ironically, can't keep up with the running Bulls

Friday night, the Chicago Bulls took on the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors had just completed part of their preseason play in Europe and were now back in the U.S. to place Chicago. With star Chris Bosh sitting out, the Raptors had to find another way to tear away at the Chicago Bulls. So Toronto turned to 2nd-year player Andrea Bargnani. This 7 ft. shooting wonder scored a game high 21 points for the Toronto Raptors.

Chicago lacked the scoring abilities of Ben Gordon after rumors of him playing didn't fall through. Chicago also lost the defensive play of Ben Wallace. Chicago was led by the big man scoring rookie Aaron Gray who dropped 14 points. Andres Nocioni contributed with 12 points. The Bulls' record is now at 2-2 in preseason play.

The Toronto Raptors was one of the surprise teams of last season. Coach Sam Mitchell was awarded the NBA's Coach of the Year Award last year for his contribution to the much improved play of the Toronto Raptors. With last year's additions of Andrea Bargnani and Jorge Garbajosa, Toronto was able to establish a big man shooting touch from the perimeter. Look for Toronto to be even more improved this year with the acquisition of sharp shooter Jason Kapono.

Video Recap of the Game

Due to difficulty with NBA.com, games stats could not be provided.

The next night, the Bulls bounced back with a victory over the Indiana Pacers. With both Luol Deng and Ben Gordon sitting out, Chicago had to figure out some sort of offense. So Chicago found a passing a game from guards Kirk Hinrich, Thabo Sefolosha, and Chris Duhon. These three combined for 18 of the teams 29 assists. Thabo made his first home appearance for the Bulls.

The Bulls decided to go with a different starting line-up for this game. Hinrich remained the starting point guard, and Ben Wallace remained the starting center. Sefalosha, Nocioni, and Gray all found their way into the starting rotation. Nocioni finished with a team high 20 points. Tyrus Thomas added 15 points from off the bench, and Hinrich and Gray contributed 10 points respectively. Noah came off the bench to have a near double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulls improved to 3-2 in preseason play.

You can't blame the Pacers' poor play for everything since they were missing their two main big men, Jermaine O'Neal and Troy Murphy. Indiana's Shawne Williams finished with a game high 22 points, while Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger finished with 18 points and 17 points respectively. The Pacers fall to 4-2 in preseason action.

The Bulls play the Mavericks at Dallas on Tuesday night in hope of improving their overall preseason record to 4-2.

Box Score of the Game
Video Recap of the Game