Jose Calderon had 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting and added 10 assists in his return to Toronto's lineup, helping the Raptors snap a seven-game losing streak with a 114-94 victory over the Chicago Bulls last night.
Calderon returned after missing 10 of the last 11 games because of a strained right hamstring. He went 4-for-4 from the line and has made 83 straight free throws dating to last season, the second-longest streak in NBA history. Michael Williams holds the record, making 97 in a row for Minnesota in 1993. Leading 91-90 with 6:19 left, the Raptors closed the game by outscoring the Bulls 23-4. Calderon set up Chris Bosh for a dunk, and Joey Graham made a free throw to put the Raptors up 94-90 with 5:35 left. After Bulls forward Joakim Noah missed two free throws, he fouled Andrea Bargnani, who made a free throw to make it 97-92. Noah fouled out with no points and three rebounds and walked to the bench to boos from the crowd.
Bargnani finished with 22 points, and Bosh had 17 points and six rebounds.
Ben Gordon scored 19 points for Chicago. The Bulls have lost four straight.
Bargnani and Calderon hit back-to-back threes to make it 110-92 with 1:08 left that sparked more boos from the crowd.
Toronto opened the third quarter by outscoring Chicago 13-1. Calderon had jumper and a layup to give Toronto a 67-55 lead.
Chicago had 23 turnovers.
