Bulls bounce back with ferocious comeback, beat Raptors in OT - ESPN

CHICAGO — After an unparalleled players-only meeting following their first game of the season, the Chicago Bulls responded with a resilient victory in their second contest Friday night, rallying from 17 points down with under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to earn a 104-103 overtime win against the Toronto Raptors.

In the closing seconds of overtime, Bulls guard Alex Caruso blocked a layup attempt from Raptors forward Pascal Siakam on one end of the court and then hit the go-ahead 3-pointer on the other. He was mobbed by teammates after the buzzer sounded.

«It was a good sense of relief,» said Caruso, who finished with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. «One, the game is over. We got to play again tomorrow; I was tired. Two, just excited. We have good team chemistry. With our players-only meeting the other day, it was just frustration of how we came out and played.

»Today, we showed spurts of how we want to play. Being together, playing for each other, playing hard, I think that's how I embody myself as a basketball player and how we want to play."

Bulls players aired their frustrations following a season-opening 20-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, even asking coach Billy Donovan if they could have the locker room to talk among themselves afterward. Following practice Thursday, forward DeMar DeRozan guaranteed a better effort against the Raptors, and he backed his statement by carrying the team back into the game with an 18-point fourth quarter.

«It was all about how we bounced back and responded,» said DeRozan, who finished with 33 points. «I had the trust and confidence within my teammates that we would come out and compete. We had some lulls throughout the game [Friday], but we