The Windy City Bulls couldn’t capitalize on a promising night on offense during a 141-135 loss to Raptors 905 on Friday. A near-even effort from the Windy City’s starting lineup was highlighted by 34 points from guard Mac McClung. Former South Carolina standout A.J. Lawson took point as a scorer for a rising Raptors squad, who sport an 11-6 record against Eastern opponents after the win.
The Bulls used size to their advantage to stay ahead of their Canadian counterparts in the game’s opening minutes. They started off red-hot from inside the arc as they completed all but two of their first-quarter tries in the paint. While the Raptors managed to fight right back with a perfect start from forward Jonathan Mogbo, the Ontario-based squad couldn’t slow them down from up close as they continued to pull away with high-percentage makes.
The Bulls would end the game with 66 points in the paint, but fell just behind the Raptors with a 4-rebound difference on the boards. The Windy City’s ability to flip the script and apply plenty of pressure on defense led to 10 steals and 11 blocks to the Raptors’ 10 and eight, respectively. It balanced its paint attack with 15 makes on 28 tries from the 3-point line, well ahead of the regular-season shooting average that ranks at about seventh place in the league after the loss.
Forward Leonard Miller, who was included in a deadline trade that shipped Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu to the Minnesota Timberwolves, returned to the G League for the first time since early 2025. The former G League Ignite forward slotted into the starting five alongside the Windy City’s dynamic two-way guard duo and two-way center Lachlan Olbrich, who notched a double-double during his return to the Bulls in a win over the Grand Rapids Gold. Miller would end the night with 16 points on a 77.8% clip from the floor. His fellow four in Mouhamadou Gueye added six rebounds and five blocks off the bench following a solid start of his own in their victory against the Gold.
The Windy City Bulls will complete their short regular-season series against the Toronto Raptors affiliate in a weekend bout on their home floor once more on Saturday. Raptors 905 entered the Friday battle on a two-game skid against the Cleveland Charge, who have climbed their way to second in the Eastern Conference behind a near-perfect February schedule. The Raptors still sport a league-best defensive rating of 104.4 between the Tip-Off Tournament and regular season despite two scoring surges from the Charge, who rock one of the league’s most dangerous offenses help up by a handful of former NBA options. The Bulls will stick around for one more home matchup with the Wisconsin Herd before taking to Portland, Maine for a two-game series against the Maine Celtics.
The Bulls will tip off against Raptors 905 at 7 p.m. CST on Saturday in NOW Arena. The game will be broadcast on CHSN.
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