Tuesday night in the NBA, we were treated to a great game finally, as the Bulls and Raptors took the court. All the stars that weren't injured played, which is a good sight as the NBA has their problems with coaches resting star players. But the big moment in that game was when big men Serge Ibaka and Robin Lopez got involved in a fight late in the third quarter. Both players threw punches, and were ejected after the scuffle. The Bulls seemed to suffer from the loss of Lopez, as they gave up a double-digit lead, losing to the Raptors 122-120.
Fight night
The scuffle started when Robin Lopez fell back into Ibaka after a made-three pointer. Ibaka retaliated by throwing an elbow at Lopez's back and Lopez swiped the ball away. The both got in each other's faces and a shoving match occurred. Robin Lopez eventually threw a punch at Ibaka, missing him. Ibaka returned a punch, barely connecting with his head. Players on the court and coaches tried to separate the two, which took quite a while. Both players continued to spew out harsh words after being separated.
Lopez said he simply reacted to being pushed back saying it "just kind of hit the flash point." (ESPN). He also felt nobody tried to stop Ibaka saying "It felt like nobody had any hold on [Ibaka], and he just kept coming at me with his arm.
And I was just trying to get him off me." (ESPN). Lopez knows that a suspension will probably come down from the NBA, and he seems content with it, knowing his actions warranted the suspension.
Comeback Raptors
On Huskies night, the Raptors were coming in on an 11-game losing streak to the Bulls. It seemed like that losing streak was going to be 12, as the Raptors were down by 15 points with under seven minutes left in the game.
But the Raptors found their shot, going on a 15-0 run to tie the game with under two minutes left in the game. The game went into overtime, where star Demar Derozan stepped up, giving the Raptors the lead with under 2 minutes left. Bulls guard Denzel Valentine missed the go-ahead three on the next possession and it was pretty much over from there.
This is the Raptors 18th win when coming back from double-digits, the most in the league. Derozan finished with 42 points and wanted this win bad, as losing to the same team sucks. He said "You don't want to have something lingering like that and go a couple of seasons where you can't beat a team. "When you're a competitor, just to have that in the back of your mind, it sucks." (ESPN). Derozan has been carrying the Raptors since Kyle Lowry's injury, keeping him out until the postseason.
The Bulls gave up a huge lead in the fourth quarter deviating from their style of play that gave them the lead. Jimmy Butler commented on the blown lead saying "They were the aggressors on both sides of the floor, getting layups on one end and stops on the other, hell, that's how we were playing for the majority of the game.
Whenever you're playing like that, the game turns quickly." (ESPN). Butler finished with 37 points and Rajon Rondo had a season-high 24.
The game had it all for a NBA fan. Old school physicality, star players performing, and teams having a comeback win. The league will likely send out suspensions for Ibaka and Lopez, but it was good to see a little old school NBA back on TV. Many players have said the league was soft, but hopefully we see more games like this, is it kept fans entertained.
