Rose leads Bulls to win at Toronto

The Bulls picked up a preseason win at Toronto on Wednesday, but team chemistry continues to be a delayed reaction.

Playing without center Joakim Noah (flu), guard Kyle Korver (cyst in right ankle) and, of course, forward Carlos Boozer (broken hand), the Bulls shot 50 percent from the field and toppled the Raptors 110-103 at the Air Canada Centre.

The Bulls improved to 3-4 in preseason with one game remaining Friday against Indiana at the United Center. Coach Tom Thibodeau wasn't happy with the defensive effort.

“If we're just going to rely on our offense, we're going to be in trouble,” he said. “We've got to do a lot better job, and we're capable.”

Waiting until late November for Boozer's return was bad enough for the Bulls, but there has been only one game in preseason when everyone else was healthy enough to play.

Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Watson and Taj Gibson missed multiple games with minor injuries before Noah and Korver joined the inactives in Ontario.

Derrick Rose was his reliable self, producing 20 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds, slicing through Toronto's defense with ease. Luol Deng continued his solid shooting in preseason, collecting 22 points and 6 rebounds.

Foul trouble limited Gibson to 17 minutes, which brought Brian Scalabrine off the bench. The former Celtics fan favorite responded by hitting 6 of 7 shots for 14 points.

“I see the things that we do wrong and they're easily correctable,” Scalabrine said of the Bulls' defense. “It's just a matter of time. We weren't flawless our first year (in Boston) either, we had to work out some kinks.”

Center Omer Asik, who started in place of Noah, also collected 4 fouls, but managed to lead the Bulls with 9 rebounds in just 20 minutes.

After opening an early 9-point lead, the Bulls fell behind 68-58 midway through the third quarter. They responded with a 24-7 run, which featured multiple baskets by Rose, Deng, Scalabrine, Brewer and James Johnson.

Johnson ended up scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter, while hitting all 5 of his shot attempts. C.J. Watson added 12 points, but went 3-for-13 from the field, while veteran center Kurt Thomas contributed 10 points and 8 rebounds.

After missing portions of Tuesday's practice with a sore back, Keith Bogans was in the starting lineup and scored 5 points in 14 minutes.

Former Phoenix guard Leandro Barbosa led Toronto (3-4) with 22 points, followed by Andrea Bargnani with 19. Forward Reggie Evans pulled in 16 rebounds.