If you had an office pool for how the Bulls would beat the Raptors this time, you probably lost. There was no Jimmy Butler second-half explosion like Jan. 3, 2016. Nothing close to the 16-point Tony Snell fourth quarter that did the job on Dec. 28, 2015. No 49-point fourth quarter, either, like Dec. 22, 2014.
This one was just a run-of-the-mill loss for the Raptors, almost jarring in its normalcy. The Bulls’ 105-94 win Tuesday night at the United Center was their 11th straight victory over Toronto, dating back to November 2014, and this time, it wasn’t even worth wondering if there was dark magic at play.