Basketball <\/p>\n
Chicago Bulls @ Toronto Raptors<\/p>\n
Current Records: Chicago 20-28, Toronto 15-32<\/p>\n
The Chicago Bulls are taking a road trip to face off against the Toronto Raptors at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday at Scotiabank Arena. The Bulls are expected to lose this one by 4.5 points, so we’ll see if that gives them a bit of motivation.<\/p>\n
Last Wednesday, the Bulls found themselves the reluctant recipients of a 122-100 punch to the gut against the Celtics. Chicago was down 96-76 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Raptors had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.8 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Washington as they made off with a 106-82 victory. With Toronto ahead 57-38 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.<\/p>\n
The Raptors were working as a unit and finished the game with 31 assists (they’re ranked third in assists per game overall). That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now racked up at least 25 assists in 14 consecutive matches.<\/p>\n
Chicago has been struggling recently as they’ve lost eight of their last ten contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 20-28 record this season. As for Toronto, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-32.<\/p>\n
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday’s game: The Bulls have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 16 threes per game. It’s a different story for the Raptors, though, as they’ve been averaging only 11.4. Given the Bulls’ sizable advantage in that area, the Raptors will need to find a way to close that gap.<\/p>\n
The Bulls barely slipped by the Raptors in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, winning 122-121. Will the Bulls repeat their success, or do the Raptors have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.<\/p>\n
Toronto is a 4.5-point favorite against Chicago, according to the latest NBA odds<\/a>.<\/p>\n The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Raptors as a 3.5-point favorite.<\/p>\n The over\/under is 233 points.<\/p>\n See NBA picks<\/a> for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chicago has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Toronto.<\/p>\nSeries History<\/h3>\n
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