TORONTO - If you had just started watching Raptors basketball two days prior you wouldnt have recognized the team that was run out of their own building Friday night. Coming off their most encouraging victory of the season in Memphis Wednesday, the Raptors were out-muscled, out-worked and ultimately out-played against a Chicago Bulls team missing their star point guard. The Bulls - as they tend to do, with or without Derrick Rose - set the tone with their defence in the opening minutes. By the time the buzzer sounded 24 minutes into the contest, the Raptors booed off the floor by their home fans, Toronto had mustered just 31 points on 26 per cent shooting. "Theres nothing redeeming about tonight," said Dwane Casey, who later relented and cited DeMar DeRozan as the lone redeeming spot on the night. "Tonight was one of those stinkers that you have. We were mentally fried, physically fried but this is the NBA [and] theres no excuses. That wasnt us. Weve had stretches like that but not an entire game, the way we were running in mud." DeRozan, just 3-of-9 at the half, caught fire late in the third quarter. He scored 28 of his career-high matching 37 points in the second half, including 19 of the Raptors 21 points during a stretch that extended into the fourth quarter. He couldnt miss, knocking down off-balance jumpers, four three-pointers and crowning Joakim Noah on a tomahawk slam. If it was conceivable for the Raptors guard to bring his team back on his own at that point he may have, he certainly tried. But it was a little too little too late. "I just wanted to win," DeRozan said solemnly after his offensive outburst was wasted in a game that was lost early in the first half. "Thats the only thing. Just looking at the score, I knew it was going to be tough. Its just my passion, just trying to win." "He was the one redeeming spot tonight," Casey eventually acknowledged. "The way he came out in the second half, but its a 48 minute game. Youve got to start the game out that way." First Half Credit the Bulls and their defence for what turned out to be a nightmare of a first half for the Raptors offence. The same team that registered 11 assists and hit 7-of-9 three-point attempts in the first half of Wednesdays game against a quality opponent had just seven dimes and missed all seven shots from long range. The Raptors were routinely pushed around under the rim, as the Bulls front line of Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng got the visitors off to a quick start on both ends of the floor. "You cant allow someone to come in your home and outwork you like that," Casey said. "Its hard to get to the basket on them," DeRozan admitted. "They all load in. Theyre a good defensive team so youve got to find counters and different ways to try and get to the basket." However, the game was lost on the other end, where the Raptors failed to match Chicagos defensive effort. With Rose on the sideline - ruled out prior to the game, nursing a sore right hamstring - the Bulls didnt miss a beat. They moved the ball with precision and shredded Toronto in the paint, outscoring them 26-18. "Mental frustration I think is more than anything else," Casey said. "We allowed them to do that. Youve got to make a team miss. We didnt play with the desperation weve played with this week." Regrouping With five of their next six games at home, the Raptors will benefit from more practice time, something they expect to take advantage of immediately as they return to the gym on Saturday to reflect on this loss. "Its a long season, its a marathon," Casey pointed out. "But its how you bounce back from these types of games that define you." "I dont want to get too overly alarmed because you have those. You have about five or six of those a year but we cant make it a habit." Toronto is back in action at the ACC Sunday afternoon when they host the Portland Trail Blazers. Dallas Stars Store . According the CSNBayArea.com, the 31-year-old suffered an ACL injury in his right knee on Friday when he collided with Anaheims Emerson Etem during a pre-season game. Stars Jerseys 2020 . -- Theres nothing like winning to bring hope for a struggling team. https://www.cheapstarsonline.com/ . Chelsea took until the second half to trouble the leagues bottom team, but Schuerrle then ripped through the defence with ease at Craven Cottage to keep Jose Mourinhos side on track for the title. Stars Jerseys 2021 .A. Happ is coming off his first start of the year, a win at Philadelphia Monday. The former Phillie allowed three hits in five scoreless frames of a 3-0 triumph. Fake Stars Jerseys . Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards.After tying up their opening-round series in Brooklyn, the Raptors have an opportunity to do something they havent done in nearly 13 years. Toronto hasnt led a playoff series since 2001 and has been fighting an uphill battle with the Nets from the moment Game 1 tipped off last weekend. Now, with home-court advantage on their side once again, can they finally take control and impose their will on the Nets? TSN 1050s Josh Lewenberg and Duane Watson preview Wednesdays Game 55 in another playoff edition of the Raptors Report podcast.dddddddddddd. Does the momentum belong to Toronto after a dominant six-minute stand that sealed their Game 4 victory? How much of a concern are the injuries to Kyle Lowry and Amir Johnson moving forward? What can the team do to get Terrence Ross going and how might the Raptors struggling sophomore alter the course of this series if he finds his rhythm? Click here for the podcast. ' ' '