Immanuel Quickley, Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 23 points apiece as the Toronto Raptors rolled to a 135-92 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday.
RJ Barrett added 20 points, while Quickley dished out seven assists. Leonard was reacquired by the Raptors in a Sept. 14 trade that reunited the 2019 NBA Finals MVP with the team he led to its first championship.
Ja’Kobe Walter pitched in 10 points for Toronto, which held a 34-13 edge in fast-break points.
Matas Buzelis led the Bulls with 17 points, connecting on 13 of 16 free-throw attempts.
Chicago rookie Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 overall pick in June’s NBA draft, scored 16 points in his debut. Jalen Smith and Norman Powell each tallied 15 points and Tre Jones added 13 points off the bench.
The Bulls never led as the Raptors burst out of the gates, building a 43-23 first-quarter lead. Quickley tallied 14 points in the opening period, connecting on 3 of 4 3-point attempts.
Toronto opened the game on a 7-0 run, with Barrett sandwiching a pair of baskets around a Leonard 3-pointer. The Raptors doubled up the Bulls at 16-8 on Collin Murray-Boyles’ left-handed dunk.
Quickley kept rolling in the second quarter, draining a trey from the wing to extend Toronto’s advantage to 51-23 as part of an 11-0 run that spanned the first two quarters.
Barrett was fouled as he flipped in a one-handed fadeaway in the lane, with his three-point play swelling Toronto’s lead to 82-52 with 8:08 remaining in the third quarter.
Chicago committed 27 turnovers to just 11 for Toronto.
The Raptors continued to pull away with two minutes remaining in the third quarter when Walter harassed Josh Giddey into a backcourt turnover before shoveling a pass to Barnes for a two-handed dunk and a 101-62 lead.
Leonard and Barrett scored back-to-back transition baskets early in the fourth quarter as the Raptors maintained a commanding 108-71 advantage.
–Field Level Media
