The Windy City Bulls continued their up-and-down regular-season schedule with a 141-138 loss to Raptors 905 on Saturday. Bulls guard Mac McClung continued his explosive scoring streak with a team-leading 39 points. The Raptors duo of center Olivier Sarr and guard A.J. Lawson led a potent long-range attack that ended with nine combined makes from beyond the arc.
Guard Yuki Kawamura struck first for the Bulls with an underhanded scoop in the game’s opening possession. The two-way guard continued to show flashes of brilliance on offense as he continuously fed the squads hottest hands from their last few matchups. Kawamura would end the night with 12 assists, including eight in the first quarter, as he continued to be an offensive engine for the Bulls affiliate despite a slower shooting start. Forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili, once a notable standout during Illinois’s rising start in the Brad Underwood era, added four assists as he handled some playmaking responsibilities of his own both on and off the ball.
While the Windy City kept a consistent pace in one-on-one matchups as they pulled out to an early lead, a barrage of 3-point shots from the left wing kept them from locking in a comfortable lead. The Raptors would hit seven of their first 10 tries from long range as they continued the sharpshooting that would ultimately keep them in competitive form in a Friday-night battle. Raptors 905 would outlast the Bulls in the two-way shootout with a 57.6% clip from 3-point range, while the Windy City lagged behind with 13 makes on 40 tries. McClung and Sarr showed out early from long range for their respective squads. Sarr would ultimately win the long-range battle as he splashed home four of his six attempts while McClung hit five on 11 tries.
The Bulls move to 10-11 overall and 6-10 against conference opponents in the regular season following two straight home losses, including a close defeat that saw McClung lead the way for the Windy City with 34 points. It will stick around for one more home bout against the Wisconsin Herd, who fell to 15th place in the Eastern Conference as they continued their winless streak in the month of February with a Saturday loss of their own. The Bulls are 2-0 against the Herd this season following two victories in the Tip-Off Tournament, which saw highlight nights from two-way center Lachlan Olbrich and a 2025 first-round selection in forward Noa Essengue. While they sport the league’s seventh-highest defensive rating in the regular season, the Herd hold one of its worst-ranked scoring attacks, which has failed to reach 100 points on two occasions this month.
The Windy City Bulls will tip off against the Herd at 7 p.m. CST on Tuesday in NOW Arena. The game will be broadcast on CHSN.
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