CHICAGO _ The non-competitive losses have mostly ended for now. The win streak is in the past too.
Now, the Bulls are settling into that kind of loss that checks all the boxes of the rebuild. Play hard. Have at least one of the cornerstones shine. Add another ping-pong ball to the hopper.
That's three straight such losses following Wednesday's 124-115 late fade to the Raptors, who were led by DeMar DeRozan's 35 points and a career-high 25 from Delon Wright.
The Bulls, who got 26 points from Justin Holiday, 22 from Lauri Markkanen and 20 from Nikola Mirotic, led by 10 in the first half and by nine with 4:31 left in the third quarter before DeRozan took over, tying the game at 90 entering the final period. DeRozan scored 18 in the third.
That's 87 points over DeRozan's last two games as he scored a franchise-record 52 in an overtime victory over the Bucks.
