Bulls run afoul of refs
Gordon's 3-point play gives Bulls late lead, but controversial call helps Raptors prevail
Tough turnaround from a seven-game road trip? Check.
A time-consuming commute to the arena because of the weather? Check.
Overdue for a loss to the Raptors, whom they had beaten 15 consecutive times? Check.
The excuse some used after the game was referee Greg Willard's slow whistle when he called a foul on Bulls rookie Tyrus Thomas in the closing seconds.
To be clear, Bulls coach Scott Skiles said Thomas did hit Raptors star Chris Bosh on his layup attempt.
''I like the fact that call was made if it was a foul, and I thought it was,'' Skiles said. ''I think too many times there are too many guys who just hold the whistle at that point. Why have the game be 48 minutes long then? The problem is, I don't know what the secret is to getting that one. Tonight, they got it. I just think it's inconsistent sometimes.''
But the foul appeared to occur with 3.9 seconds left, not the 2.1 seconds that were on the clock when Bosh sank the two free throws that gave the Raptors a 112-111 lead. After the game, general manager John Paxson made just that point to the official observer assigned by the league.
''It's tough,'' said Bulls guard Chris Duhon, who with 16 points was the only bench player who pulled his weight. ''We believe that was a late whistle. If he called it when it happened, that would have given us more time [to] run something at the end. We felt [Ben Gordon] got fouled at the end, as well. But they didn't call it. It's just one of those things.''
Gordon's last-second shot, which he squeezed between T.J. Ford and Andrea Bargnani before hitting the floor, came up short.
''Absolutely,'' Gordon, who scored 26 points, said when asked if he thought he had been fouled. ''But we didn't get the call. I don't know why. I thought they got a lucky one on the other end. That's just how the game went.''
Skiles, who said there wasn't enough contact on Gordon to merit a foul call, knew going in the Bulls might be somewhat slow, given the travel after their victory Sunday in Phoenix and the problems with the snowstorm Tuesday. He tried finding some energy by using 11 of his 12 players in the first quarter, after which the Bulls trailed 33-26.
''It was clear from the first four or five possessions that we were a step slow, more than a step slow,'' he said. ''It's understandable. I'm not mad at anybody at that point. I'm just trying to find something to get going.''
The Bulls, who were led by Luol Deng's 30 points, didn't get going in earnest until the third quarter. They took the lead for the first time at 71-70 on a 10-foot jumper by Gordon with 4:48 left in the third. The Raptors regained the lead 32 seconds later and built their edge to 110-98 with 4:04 left in the fourth.
Using a zone defense and the offense of Duhon and Gordon, who combined for 11 points in a 13-0 run, the Bulls battled back. Gordon gave the Bulls a 111-110 lead when he made a driving layup, was fouled and sank the free throw with 12.8 seconds left.
''We were almost able to steal it,'' Skiles said. ''We came out in the second half with a lot more energy. We just did not have enough at the end. They probably deserved to win. They outplayed us for 40 minutes.''
Weather was a problem for the fans -- as evidenced by the numerous no-shows -- and players. Bulls big men Ben Wallace and P.J. Brown needed two hours to drive in from the northern suburbs and arrived at 6:45 p.m., less than an hour before tipoff. Part of the delay was that Brown's car got stuck in Wallace's driveway.
''As long as [they were] here for the start on a night like this, that's all I'd care about,'' Skiles said. ''We told everybody today to try to leave enough time, but we knew it was very iffy."