Jimmy Butler breaks Michael Jordan’s record, tows Bulls to win over Raptors

Jimmy Butler finished with just two points in the first half against the Toronto Raptors but exploded in the second half to end up with 42 points total, 40 in the second half to break former Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan’s franchise record for total points in a half. Butler lead the Bulls to a 115-113 victory over the Canadian squad.

Jordan had 39 points, the previous Bulls’ record in a half, against the Milwaukee Bucks in 1989. Butler eclipsed Jordan’s record with a free throw that gave the Bulls a two point lead late and they held on to that lead after Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

The Raptors appeared in control late holding a 105-100 lead with 2:57 to go in the game, but Butler was just unstoppable, making a three-pointer to cut it down to two points. Another three-pointer from Butler gave the Bulls a 112-111 lead with 30 seconds to go.

Butler shot 15-of-23 from the field overall including 2-of-3 from behind the arc and 10-of-11 from the free throw line, adding 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

As a team, the Bulls shot 42-of-82 from the field or 51.2 per cent. Aside from Butler, Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic also had a good scoring night for the Bulls, finishing with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Gasol also had 12 rebounds for another double-double and added 6 assists and 4 blocked shots.

It was a sorry loss for the Raptors, which had a double-digit lead, 103-91 with 5:45 to go in the game but was outscored 24-10 in the final half of the final quarter as they had a two-game winning streak snapped.

The Bulls have now won four in a row and will face the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics at home in their next two games. Meanwhile, the Raptors will be on the road in their next five games, including match-ups against East’s best Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.