By Canadian Press

Zach LaVine leads Bulls past Raptors 105-91 in pre-season game in Toronto

Oct 13, 2019 | 6:52 PM

TORONTO — Zach LaVine scored 26 points and his Chicago Bulls hit 18 three-point jumpers in a 105-91 pre-season victory over the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Fifth-year guard LaVine did most of the damage for Chicago with a pair of three-pointers and 16 points in the first half. He finished with four three-pointers.

Tomas Satoransky and Coby White also scored four three-pointers apiece. The Bulls went 18 for 49 beyond the three-point arc, in total, compared to the Raptors nine for 29.

OG Anunoby led Toronto with 15 points, followed by Matt Thomas with 12 and Canadian Chris Boucher’s 11.

Playing at Scotiabank Arena for the first time since a 106-105 loss against the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the Raptors jumped out to a 7-0 lead.

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But the Bulls relied on the three-point shot to get back into the game and enjoy leads of 28-21 after the first quarter, 53-38 at halftime and 92-61 after three quarters.

The Raptors opened training camp with a media day on Sept. 28. They spent the next five days in Quebec City preparing at Laval University. They then jetted off to Tokyo for a pair of exhibition games against the Houston Rockets before returning from Japan on Friday evening.

Toronto rested key players Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Norman Powell, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet against Chicago. Point guard Kyle Lowry continues to recover from off-season thumb surgery. He hasn’t been cleared to play yet.

Canadian tennis sensation Bianca Andreescu sat court side. The U.S. Open champion was presented with a Raptors jersey during a timeout in the second quarter.

The Raptors will play their final pre-season game at Brooklyn against the Nets on Friday before their season opener at home against the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 22.

Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press