VanVleet's 30-point double-double leads Siakam-less Raptors past Bulls

On a night with no Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet did plenty of heavy lifting.

VanVleet had 30 points and 11 assists in his first game back after missing three straight with lower back tightness, to lead Toronto to an entertaining 113-104 victory over former Raptor DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.

O.G. Anunoby had 22 points, while Scottie Barnes finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto (6-4). Gary Trent chipped in with 12 points and Christian Koloko finished with 11 points and six blocks.

Trailing by 13 points in the first half, the Raptors chipped away at the deficit to go up by 10 in the third quarter. But the Bulls grabbed hold of the momentum, pulling to within 83-82 to start the fourth, and opening the quarter with a 7-0 run for a six-point lead.

But VanVleet connected on a pair of consecutive three-pointers to orchestrate a comeback, and when Anunoby got his hands on an Alex Caruso pass, and sprinted downcourt, deking around DeRozan for a basket, it put Toronto up by six with 3:47 to play, and brought the Scotiabank Arena crowd to its feet.

COUNT THE BASKET <a href="https://twitter.com/FredVanVleet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FredVanVleet</a> <a href="https://t.co/B2Y6MqcTt0">pic.twitter.com/B2Y6MqcTt0</a>

The fans barely had time to sit down when VanVleet snatched the ball off DeRozan and tossed it to Anunoby for a wide-open basket and nine-point lead with 1:30 left.

Siakam is expected to be out at least two weeks with a strained right adductor muscle, a big blow to the team after his blistering start to the season. He'd been averaging team highs of 24.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists and recorded six double-doubles — including a pair of triple-doubles — through the first nine games before