Raptors 97, Bulls 88: Amir Johnson scored 24 points and Rudy Gay added 23 as host Toronto beat Chicago for the second time in four days.

DeMar DeRozan had 19 points and Kyle Lowry nearly had a triple-double with 13 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds as the Raptors dropped Chicago a half-game behind Atlanta in the race for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Nazr Mohammed added 16 and 13 for the Bulls, who lost for the third time in four games.

Toronto went ahead for good with a 12-3 run to close the second quarter for a 47-43 halftime edge. The Raptors built the lead to 15 points before Chicago closed within 73-65 at the end of the third quarter.

The Bulls cut the deficit to three early in the fourth and got within six points for the final time on Marco Belinelli's 3-pointer with 2:55 to play, but Johnson answered with a dunk and Gay buried a 3-pointer to push the lead to double digits.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Bulls G Richard Hamilton was ejected midway through the third quarter for catching DeRozan in the face with an elbow. ... Johnson hit a big 3-pointer in the fourth, only his third of the season and first since Dec. 3. ... Toronto was without rookie C Jonas Valanciunas (sore neck), F Landry Fields (strep throat) and swingman Terrence Ross (ankle).