NASHVILLE—Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith were too much for the Nashville Predators.Keith scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Blackhawks to a 3-1 win over the Predators on Tuesday night.Kane and Nick Leddy also scored for the Hawks, who have won five of six.Shea Weber scored for the Predators.Keith scored the game’s first goal at 1:29 of the opening period on a slap shot from the left side that beat Nashville goaltender Carter Hutton on the stick side.

“I try to have a good gap and be good defensively,” Keith said. “As a defenseman, that’s your first and foremost job is how you defend. It’s something I take a lot of pride in. The offense kind of just takes care of itself.”

Making his fourth consecutive start, Hutton had his three-game winning streak snapped. On Monday, he was selected the NHL’s third star of the week. Hutton spent the past two seasons in the Blackhawks organization before signing with Nashville in the offseason.Weber tied it at 3:03 of the first with a power-play goal.On the right side, Roman Josi faked a shot and then sent a pass to Weber at the top of the right circle where the Nashville captain beat goaltender Antti Raanta with a one-timer.That was the only goal Raanta allowed in the first, despite 17 Nashville shots on goal in the period. The Hawks only allowed 11 Nashville shots over the final two periods combined.

“I just thought we just mismanaged a few situations tonight that gave them enough momentum,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “We should have got points out of this game. We played well enough to do that, but the second period and the third period, they did a good job. We couldn’t get any forecheck going. We couldn’t get any sustained pressure.”

The Blackhawks answered back at 16:14 of the first with a highlight reel power-play goal by Kane.Skating down the right side, the left-handed shooting Kane lifted a tough angle backhand just underneath the crossbar for his team-leading 20th goal of the season.

“It’s a play that we have been trying off the breakout on the power play with the entry,” Kane said. “I just tried to hit that spot, lucky enough, it went in.”

It was the 10th straight game in which Kane has recorded at least one point, two shy of his career best.

“He’s got a lot of tools,” Hutton said. “He can do a lot of things with the puck. He’s a pretty special player. We gave him time and space like that he kind of made us pay.”

Leddy scored on the power play at 11:33 of the second to cap the scoring.Standing on the left side, he put home the rebound of Brandon Saad’s shot from the right side. The puck entered and exited the net so quickly, it was initially ruled no goal on the ice, but a quick video review credited Leddy with his fourth of the season.

“I liked our game,” Joel Quenneville said. “I liked our attention to detail, very businesslike and came out to a good start. The power play was big again for us.”

NOTES—The Blackhawks have scored at least one power-play goal in their past 10 games…..Bryan Bickell returned to the lineup after missing 14 games with a knee injury…..Predators G Marek Mazanec missed the game with an illness. Magnus Hellberg was recalled under emergency conditions from Milwaukee of the AHL to serve as Hutton’s backup.

Arron Afflalo scored 23 points and the Orlando Magic got double-doubles from Glen Davis and Nikola Vucevic in an 83-82 victory over the slumping Bulls on Monday night.Davis had 14 points and 11 rebounds despite playing with a sore left shoulder, powering Orlando to a 54-45 edge on the glass in just its second win in the last 10 games. Vucevic finished with 10 points and 11 boards.The Bulls had a chance to win despite shooting 34.6 percent from the field during another terrible offensive performance. Trailing 81-79 with 6.8 seconds left, Joakim Noah made a terrific bounce pass to a streaking Luol Deng, but he missed the easy layup.Davis grabbed the rebound and made two foul shots to give the Magic a four-point lead that proved crucial when Mike Dunleavy made a 3-pointer from half court as time expired.Deng had 26 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls who have dropped five of six. D.J. Augustin and Dunleavy had 14 points apiece, and Noah finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.Jameer Nelson had 14 points and seven assists for Orlando, which had lost its last five games against the Bulls.The Magic appeared to be on their way to an easy victory when Vucevic and Afflalo made consecutive jumpers to make it 63-46 with 5:17 left in the third. Afflalo had 13 points in the period.But the Bulls started to pick up their play at the end of the quarter. Augustin, Dunleavy and Deng each made a 3-pointer during a 13-2 run that trimmed Orlando’s lead to 65-59 with 58.1 seconds left, capped by an emphatic two-handed jam by Taj Gibson over Vucevic.The Bulls played without point guard Kirk Hinrich for the second straight game due to back stiffness. Coach Tom Thibodeau said he hopes Hinrich will be able to return soon.Marquis Teague replaced Hinrich in the starting lineup, but the Bulls offense looked much better when Augustin was on the court. Augustin, who signed with the Bulls on Friday and started the second half, had eight assists in 37 minutes, while Teague was scoreless in 11 minutes.The Magic put together a 15-0 run in the first quarter and led 43-35 at the break. Rookie Victor Oladipo, who played his college ball at Indiana and got a warm ovation when he was introduced with the starting lineup, scored the final basket of the first half on a driving layup with 12 seconds left.Davis injured his shoulder in the fourth quarter of Orlando’s 101-98 loss at Oklahoma City on Sunday. He was a game-time decision against the Bulls, but he made two big jumpers in the final period while playing 33 minutes.

NOTES—The Bulls waived G Mike James before the game. He played 37 1/2 minutes over seven games with the Bulls… These teams play again on Jan. 15 in Orlando and April 14 back in the United Center. … Carlos Boozer had 13 rebounds for the Bulls.

EVANSTON—Drew Crawford scored a season-high 26 points and Northwestern beat Mississippi Valley State 86-64 Monday night.Alex Olah and Tre Demps scored 18 and Sanjay Lumpkin had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Northwestern (6-5), which was playing without guard JerShon Cobb. The Wildcats’ second-leading scorer at 13.6 points per game, Cobb was in a walking boot and didn’t play because of a sprained left ankle he suffered during practice Thursday. He is day-to-day.Crawford added 10 rebounds and moved up to seventh in school history in points, passing Kevin Rankin (1,575). Crawford also set a season-high for the Wildcats, who had one of their best shooting nights of the season.NU entered play Monday shooting 41.8 percent, but made 29 of 54 shots (53.7 percent), while holding Mississippi Valley State (3-7) to 36.2 percent.The Wildcats were playing their first game after an eight-day break for final exams, and won their second straight following a 51-35 victory last Sunday over Western Michigan. They have another six-day break until Sunday when they face Brown.Before the two wins, the Wildcats lost three in a row to Missouri, UCLA, and North Carolina State. On Monday, Northwestern wasn’t challenged, as it won at least two games in a row for the second time in Chris Collins’ first year as coach.Crawford’s 3-pointer with five seconds left in the first half gave NU a 44-31 lead, but MVSU ended the period when DeAngelo Priar’s desperation heave from just beyond half court banked in, cutting Northwestern’s lead to 10.The Wildcats then stayed in control during the second half, with their lead never dipping below nine.Northwestern’s win was also its fourth in five games all-time against Mississippi Valley State, after it beat the Delta Devils 81-68 last year in Evanston.MVSU was led by James Currington’s 14 points and 13 rebounds. Cameron Dobbs scored 12 for the Delta Devils, who were playing just their second game in a 17-day span and had a two-game winning streak snapped. Before beating Tougaloo College 89-81 on Dec. 7, MVSU’s previous game was Nov. 30 when it topped Longwood 90-89 for its only win against Division I competition.The Delta Devils’ struggled against teams from power conferences also continued on Monday. MVSU has fallen by 55 points to Oklahoma State, 24 to Texas A&M, 22 to Mississippi State, 29 to Ole Miss, and 17 to Georgia Tech.

ROCHESTER—Tommie McCune scored nine of his 16 points right after halftime as Oakland got hot and broke open a two-point game to beat Illinois State 90-75 on Monday night.The Golden Grizzlies were up just 40-38 at halftime when McCune, Corey Petros and Kahlil Felder sparked a 14-2 run and Oakland (3-9) was never threatened again. Travis Bader led all scorers with 21 points, Petros added 18 with 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season, and Felder and Duke Mondy scored 12 each. Bader also grabbed 11 boards for his first double-double.Daishon Knight and Paris Lee scored 14 apiece for the Redbirds (5-5), who shot just 38 percent from the field, despite hanging close through the first half. By contrast Oakland made 31 of 56 field goals for 55.4 percent. The Grizzlies also enjoyed a 44-29 rebounding edge, outscoring Illinois State 42-16 in the paint.

Ask the NBA’s Miami Heat,Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. The United Center is a place where winning streak come to die. The Los Angeles Kings found that out Sunday.The Blackhawks were coming off an ugly loss, and they had the surging LA Kings coming to town for a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.Enter Jonathan Toews who set up two of the Blackhawks’ three first-period goals, leading the defending Stanley Cup champions to a 3-1 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night.

“We got a great start and didn’t really let up for the next 40 minutes,” Toews said. “It was a much better effort tonight. It doesn’t take us long to get back to our good habits.”

Rookie Antti Raanta made 21 saves to help Chicago bounce back from a 7-3 loss at Toronto on Saturday night. Marian Hossa had a short-handed score that snapped Los Angeles’ NHL-record streak of 18 games without allowing a first-period goal.

“I just tried to keep on doing the right things and tried to find the puck all the time,” said Raanta, who was pulled after two periods in the loss to the Maple Leafs.

Raanta was working on his first career shutout before Alec Martinez scored at 16:06 of the third. The Kings then had a power-play opportunity when Andrew Shaw was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct. But the Blackhawks managed to kill it off.

“We didn’t have the puck very much,” Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said. “So a lot of the shots were standing at the blue line or sneaking in. We weren’t in their zone much, so we weren’t very effective.”

Kris Versteeg and Patrick Sharp also scored as Chicago improved to 7-0-2 in the second half of games on back-to-back nights. It was win No. 684 for Joel Quenneville, tying Pat Quinn for fourth on the league’s coaching list.The Kings (22-8-4) had won six in a row and were hoping to complete a perfect four-game trip in the same building where their Stanley Cup title defense ended in June. But the matchup of the NHL’s best offensive team and the league’s stingiest defense went to the high-scoring Blackhawks, who have won four of five and lead the NHL with 53 points.

“It wasn’t the start that we wanted and it’s hard to play catch-up,” Kings center Anze Kopitar said. “It’s quite a bit to overcome when it’s that kind of team. It’s no secret we lost the game in the first period.”

Ben Scrivens had 37 saves for Los Angeles in his first start since Dec. 2, keeping the Kings in the game with a handful of nice stops in the last two periods. Scrivens and Martin Jones have done a terrific job in goal since Jonathan Quick was shelved by a groin injury last month.The Blackhawks (24-7-5) also were without their top goaltender, Corey Crawford. The 29-year-old Crawford is out with a groin injury, and it’s unclear when he might return.Raanta has started every game since Crawford went down on Dec. 8. He made his best stop against Los Angeles in the second, sticking his right skate out to turn away Kopitar on a prime opportunity.

“It shows a lot that a young rookie goaltender like him can come back and play with confidence like he did tonight,” Toews said.

The Hawks beat Los Angeles in five games in the playoffs and went on to win the title for the second time in four seasons. The series against the Kings culminated with a hat trick for Patrick Kane in the deciding game, including the decisive score in the second overtime off a pass from Toews.Toews picked up right where he left off in the first game of his season between two of the NHL’s best teams.First, he won a battle for the puck with Los Angeles defenseman Jake Muzzin behind the Kings’ net, and then threw it in front for Hossa’s 14th goal at 5:45 of the first. After Versteeg scored on a 2-on-1 break, Toews made a great cross-ice pass to Sharp for a power-play goal that made it 3-0 with 29 seconds left in the period.

“I think Jonathan Toews in the first period pretty much just said, ‘OK boys, my time there,'” Sutter said.

NOTES—It was Bryan Bickell bobblehead night, but the big forward remained out with an injury. Quenneville said Bickell probably will accompany the team to Nashville for Tuesday’s game against the Predators, but it’s more likely he returns on Friday against Vancouver. “He did well today,” Quenneville said, “so he’s close.” … Kings D Willie Mitchell was scratched due to an illness. He played in each of Los Angeles’ first 33 games of the season. … Quenneville said goaltender Jason LaBarbera “could be in the mix” with the Blackhawks soon. LaBarbera was acquired in a trade with Edmonton on Saturday and assigned to Rockford in the AHL.

ROSEMONT—Billy Garrett Jr. scored eight points in overtime as DePaul beat Chicago State 77-70 on Sunday, barely continuing their dominance of the Cougars.Tied at 62, Chicago State (4-6) had a chance to take the lead with 17 seconds left in regulation but Quinton Pippen’s running 3-pointer from the left wing was long, and DePaul rebounded. Cleveland Melvin then had a chance to win the game for DePaul, but his lay-up attempt with three seconds remaining was blocked, sending the game to overtime.The Blue Demons then scored the first six points of the extra session, before closing out the game to beat Chicago State for the 12th straight time.Melvin scored 18 and Garrett had 17 for the Blue Demons (6-4), who have won two straight after losing three of four.Melvin, playing in his 100th career game, also passed Dallas Comegys (1,613) for seventh on the school’s all-time scoring list is nearing Stephen Howard (1,691) for sixth.DePaul led by as many as 12 in the second half but Chicago State took the lead 59-58 with 5:10 left on a Matt Ross 3-pointer, capping off an 11-0 run. Chicago State then went ahead for the last time on Corey Gray’s 3-pointer with 1:21 remaining, before Brandon Young made a free throw to tie the game at 62.DePaul is in the middle of a stretch of three games in seven days, wrapping up when it hosts Houston Baptist on Wednesday.The Cougars were led by Pippen and Nate Duhon’s 18 points. After starting 2-1, Chicago State has lost five of seven and plays again Monday when it hosts Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.Chicago State shot only 39 percent from the floor, and shot 13 free throws compared to DePaul’s 40.That all helped the Blue Demons continue their control of Chicago State. With Sunday’s win, DePaul improved to 12-0 all-time against the Cougars, whom they had beaten by an average of 23.5 points per game entering Sunday.DePaul also improved to 18-1 against current members of the Western Athletic Conference, which Chicago State joined before this season.Sunday’s game was also the Cougars’ first in eight days, following their 90-81 win last Saturday over Wisconsin-Parkside.Chicago State, winners of the final Great West Conference tournament last season, has already faced Indiana and Illinois and is scheduled to play at Cincinnati and Creighton before opening its first WAC season Jan. 4 when it faces Idaho.

CLEVELAND—Jay Cutler hasn’t always been Bears Fans first choice. On Sunday, he was the right one for coach Marc Trestman.Cutler shook off some early rustiness and threw three touchdown passes in his first start since Nov. 10, leading the Bears to a 38-31 win over the Cleveland Browns.Cutler, who missed the previous four games with a sprained left ankle, threw a 4-yard TD pass to Earl Bennett with 5:41 left as Bears (8-6) rallied in the second half and stayed in contention for an NFC playoff spot.Cutler finished 22 of 31 for 265 yards and validated Trestman’s decision to stick with him over backup Josh McCown, who had played well while filling in for the starter.Michael Bush’s 40-yard TD run with 2:17 left sealed it for the Bears, who completed a four-game sweep of the AFC North and won their first road game since Nov. 4, when McCown led them to a win over Green Bay.Trestman had promised Cutler would keep his job once he was healthy. And after Cutler was cleared earlier this week to practice, Trestman kept his word and started the not-always-popular veteran, a decision that had some Bears fans questioning whether it might be better to stick with the hot McCown.Cutler looked shaky in the first half with the two picks, but he settled down and brought back the Bears, who fell behind 24-17 when Cleveland safety T.J. Ward returned a fumble 51 yards for a TD.Backed up at his own 5 in front of Cleveland’s Dawg Pound section early in the fourth, Cutler drove the Bears 95 yards — with the help of two defensive penalties — and hit Alshon Jeffery with a 45-yard scoring pass to tie it with 10:59 left.Cutler lofted a deep pass toward the front of the end zone to Jeffery, who wasn’t open but hauled in the throw when safety Tashuan Gipson badly mistimed his jump.Zack Bowman returned an interception 43 yards for a TD to give the Bears a 17-10 lead in the third quarter.The Browns (4-10) scored two defensive touchdowns, but as has been the case in recent weeks, Cleveland couldn’t get the big stop when it needed one. The Browns have lost five straight, eight of nine and dropped at least 10 games in six straight seasons.Gipson returned an interception 44 yards for a TD and safety T.J. Ward had a 51-yard TD fumble return for the Browns.Jason Campbell finished 23 of 39 for 273 yards and one touchdown, a 43-yarder to wide receiver Josh Gordon with 59 seconds to go to pull the Browns within 38-31.Cleveland, which lost a heartbreaker in New England last week when it couldn’t recover a late onside kick, was then penalized for illegal formation trying one of their own and the Bears ran out the final seconds.Ward’s 51-yard fumble return for a TD — moments after star cornerback Joe Haden injured his hip — gave the Browns a 24-17 lead late in the third.Cutler completed a short pass to tight end Martellus Bennett, who was fighting for yardage and a first down when he was stripped from behind by defensive end Billy Winn. Ward scooped up the loose ball and was enveloped by a bubble of Browns for an escort to the end zone and Cleveland’s second defensive TD.Cutler didn’t crumble despite his two first-half miscues. His 5-yard TD pass to Brandon Marshall with 24 seconds left in the second quarter tied it 10-all. The pair hooked up on a 41-yard completion, with Marshall outjumping Haden, to set up the tying touchdown.Gipson’s TD return gave the Browns a 10-3 lead midway through the second.The Bear defense finally stopped an opponent on the ground, limiting the Browns to 93 yards rushing. The Bears entered with the NFL’s worst rushing defense.

TORONTO—The Toronto Maple Leafs were coming off a poor game in St. Louis where coach Randy Carlyle said his team looked “brain-dead.” Not the best way to welcome the Blackhawks on Saturday night.But the Leafs rebounded in a big way.Joffrey Lupul and Peter Holland each scored twice and combined with linemate Mason Raymond for 11 points to lift Toronto to a 7-3 win over the Stanley Cup champions.Tied 1-1 after the first period, Toronto outscored the Hawks 4-1 in the second to pull ahead for its first win in regulation time since Nov. 19, a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders.The victory also snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Hawks going back to February 2003.Jerry D’Amigo, Nikolai Kulemin and Phil Kessel also scored for Toronto, who outshot the opposition for just the fifth time this season, holding a 32-28 edge.It was a big offensive night for the Leafs, who have had to count on their top line of Kessel, Nazem Kadri and James Van Riemsdyk in recent weeks. They had a season-high seven goals against the Stanley Cup champions.Lupul finished with two goals and two assists while Raymond had four assists and Holland two goals and an assist on a breakout night for the newly assembled Leafs’ second line.Patrick Kane had two goals and Brandon Saad scored for the Blackhawks, whose league-best offence sputtered on the night.The Blackhawks had arrived riding a three-game win streak during which they had outscored the opposition 19-6. The Hawks were also 9-0-2 against Eastern Conference opposition.

“We were not very good,” Coach Joel Quenneville said. “They were much better than us. We got what we deserved tonight. We still got ourselves back in the game, 1-1 at the start of the second period and put ourselves in a decent spot. … But basically we got what we deserved because we weren’t ready to play.”

The Leafs came into the game in a nosedive, with just two regulation wins in their past 19 outings.The lack of pushback against St. Louis had been a particular low for the Leafs.The game was Carlyle’s 100th as Leafs coach, improving his record at the Toronto helm to 49-40-11.Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf returned to the lineup after serving a two-game suspension for boarding Boston defenseman Kevan Miller.However, forward David Clarkson was handed a two-game ban earlier in the day for an illegal hit to the head of St. Louis forward Vladimir Sobotka.Finnish rookie Antti Raanta got the start again for the Hawks in the absence of the injured Corey Crawford and Nikolai Khabibulin.He was pulled from his eighth career NHL game with the score 5-2 after two periods in favor of Kent Simpson, a 21-year-old making his NHL debut.

“I think you could say that Chicago’s goalies had a rough night … and you have to take advantage of that when it comes your way,” Carlyle said.

It was a rough start for the Blackhawks, who drew three straight penalties in the first period. But some indiscipline by the home team later in the period evened the score.Toronto was on its second power play before the Hawks got their first shot on net, some seven minutes into the game.Holland made the Hawks pay for the Andrew Shaw tripping call, tapping in a Lupul pass across the crease after a nice pass by Raymond at 7:14.

“Not the start we wanted, getting the penalties and getting down a goal, then probably thinking too much offence as the game went on,” Kane said. “The start wasn’t good, especially the first 10 minutes. Three penalties kind of takes you right out of the game.

“We tried to fight back and get ourselves into it but it was too little too late.”

Toronto faced a 58-second 5-on-3 after Raymond was called for tripping behind the goal while killing off a penalty to Holland.The Blackhawks scored 29 seconds later when a sprawling Phaneuf redirected Kane’s pass from the side of the net past Jonathan Bernier into the goal at 16:14. It was his 18th goal of the season and marked the eighth straight game the Hawks scored on the power play.Kane has points in eight straight games and 20 of his past 21.Van Riemsdyk could have made it 2-1 near the end of the period but, with a good portion of the goal empty after a pretty passing sequence, he couldn’t connect on a Kessel feed that took a nasty bounce.Toronto had the first five shots of the game, but the shot count was tied at 11-11 after 20 minutes.D’Amigo made it 2-1 on the Leafs’ 13th shot 42 seconds into the second period when he tucked in a Kulemin rebound that dropped out of Raanta’s glove. It was the first goal of his six-game NHL career.Both the puck and D’Amigo’s stick will be displayed in a frame soon.A Hawk goal minutes later was called off for being directed into the goal by a Hawks hand (and then Phaneuf’s stick).Holland scored his second at 12:09 of the second period, left to finish all alone after taking a nice pass from Raymond.Kane replied at 13:30, snapping a wrist shot past Bernier after a Toronto turnover in the neutral zone. But Kulemin restored the Leafs’ two-goal advantage at 14:36, on a low shot from a Jay McClement pass.Lupul increased the lead to 5-2 on the power play, tipping in a Jake Gardiner shot from the point for his ninth of the season at 17:08.Simpson gave up a goal on his first shot when Lupul, just 28 seconds in, beat him from the faceoff dot after doing some good digging behind the goal.Holland had a chance at his hat trick but shot wide on a breakaway. Seconds later, Saad pulled one back with a tip-in at 7:38 for his 12th of the season.Kessel made it 7-3 at 8:35 with a quick shot from the slot for his 17th of the season.

NOTES—The Hawks return home to host Los Angeles on Sunday.

Kyle Lowry believes the Toronto Raptors are built to withstand stretches like this. That’s because they’re a little deeper. Lowry scored 16 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Toronto beat the Bulls 99-77 Saturday night.DeMar DeRozan scored 15 and Amir Johnson added 14 points and eight rebounds to help the Raptors earn their second win in as many nights after dropping six of seven.They’re a different team, too, with Rudy Gay now in Sacramento after a seven-player trade this week.They got rid of someone who was averaging 18 points but shooting a career-low 38.8 percent. They’ve won three of four without him, and they made it look rather easy against the broken down Bulls.

“Nothing to do with Rudy personally, just the fit,” coach Dwane Casey said. “Rudy is a talented player, the fit is a different thing.”

The Raptors led by 16 early in the third, and pulled away in the fourth after the gap dwindled to four, sending the Bulls to their 10th loss in 13 games. Luol Deng led the Bulls with 17 points and Mike Dunleavy Jr. scored 14. Joakim Noah added 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Jimmy Butler scored 11. But it was another difficult night for the Bulls.They shot just 36 percent and were 6 of 18 on 3-pointers. They were also missing Kirk Hinrich, who sat out with back stiffness.

“Losing sucks, there’s no question about it,” Noah said. “But it also shows true colors, who’s willing to keep fighting through the adversity or who’s just going to say, ‘You know what, I want no part of this. I’m just going to take bad shots and just not care at all about making winning plays, playing defense, things like that.'”

The Raptors led 51-41 at the half after Lowry nailed a 20-foot jumper and open 3-pointer in the closing seconds, and they scored the first six of the third quarter, with the Bulls turning it over twice and missing four shots.Johnson’s jumper made it 57-41 three minutes into the quarter, but Bulls started to chip away.Marquis Teague banked in a 3 in the closing minute of the third to make it 73-66, and D.J. Augustin hit one early in the fourth to make it a four-point game.But a jumper by DeRozan, a layup by Tyler Hansbrough and two free throws by Greivis Vasquez quickly got it back up to 79-69. It hasn’t been an easy stretch for either team. The Bulls saw their championship visions get crushed when they lost Derrick Rose to another knee injury. Just about every other key player has been banged up, too.

“I think a lot of it is us having guys in and out,” Deng said, referring to the Bulls’ struggles on offense. “We’re not getting as much practice time with guys.”

But Noah didn’t want to go down that route.

“No excuses,” he said. “I know that we’re capable of a lot better than that. We can’t get frustrated. Our effort has to be a lot better to play winning basketball. But it’s going to come.”

The Raptors seem to be coming together after experiencing some upheaval the past week.They acquired point guard Vasquez and forwards Patrick Patterson, former Bull John Salmons and Chuck Hayes along with financial flexibility after the season in the deal that sent Gay to Sacramento. They also waived Augustin, who was signed by the Bulls.

NOTES—Casey said Augustin could fill a need for the Bulls, something he was unable to do in Toronto. “We had a gluttony,” he said. “Kyle Lowry was getting a lot of minutes.” Signed as a free agent in July, he appeared in 10 games this year with the Raptors and averaged 2.1 points and 1.0 assists for Toronto. … Hinrich missed his first game this season.

PORTLAND—Mike Moser had 14 points and nine rebounds, and No. 15 Oregon remained unbeaten with a 71-64 victory over Illinois on Saturday night. Mike Moser had 14 points and nine rebounds, and No. 15 Oregon remained unbeaten with a 71-64 victory over Illinois on Saturday night.Joseph Young added 14 points for the Ducks in the game at Portland’s newly renamed Moda Center, home of the NBA’s Trail Blazers. Oregon improved to 9-0 in its best start since it won its first 13 games in the 2006-07 season. Rayvonte Rice scored 16 points for the Illini (9-2). Illinois led by as many as nine points in the second half, but Oregon rallied to a 58-54 advantage on Moser’s layup and Young’s short jumper.The Illini responded with five consecutive points, retaking the lead on Nnanna Egwu’s 3-pointer with 3:37 to go. The Ducks then took over for good. Cook’s layup put Oregon back in front, and Moser added a 3-pointer to make it 63-59. Johnathan Loyd’s long jumper with 30 seconds to go helped the Ducks hold on for the victory.The Ducks were coming off a 115-105 overtime victory at Mississippi last Sunday. Oregon went into the game ranked fourth in the nation with an average of 91.4 points per game. The Illini’s only other loss this season was a 67-64 decision against Georgia Tech on Dec. 3. Illinois bounced back with wins against Auburn and Dartmouth. Both teams advanced to the NCAA tournament last season.The game was tied at 32 at halftime. Tracy Abrams had 10 points at the break for Illinois.The Illini opened a 50-41 lead on Rice’s layup, but Oregon’s Jason Caliste made a jumper to tie it at 54 with 7:02 left. Oregon played without guard Dominic Artis and forward Ben Carter, who are serving NCAA-mandated suspensions for selling team apparel. Both players were suspended through the Illinois game and they must donate the value of the apparel to charity.Artis, a sophomore, averaged 8.5 points and 3.2 assists last season and was projected as a potential starter at guard alongside Loyd. Carter, also a sophomore, averaged 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds. The two will be eligible to return Tuesday when the Ducks host UC Irvine. The Illini have a connection to the Pacific Northwest in guard Ahmad Starks, who played last season at Oregon State. Starks transferred to Illinois in the offseason to be closer to his ailing grandmother, but the NCAA denied his hardship waiver and he must sit out this season.