Starters benched as Bulls fall to 1-5

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls’ dismal start has the Toronto Raptors’ T.J. Ford confused.

Carlos Delfino scored 16 points and Chris Bosh added 14 points and six rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors beat the listless Chicago Bulls, 101-71, Saturday night.

The Raptors made quick work of the Bulls despite playing their fourth game in five nights.

“What’s going on with this team?” Ford said.

Ford had 14 assists and Andrea Bargnani scored 14 points for Toronto, which had its largest win against Chicago in franchise history.

Leading, 41-30, at the half, the Raptors opened up the third quarter by outscoring the Bulls, 14-1, for a 52-31 lead that started the boos from the sellout crowd.

Bulls Coach Scott Skiles benched his starters with 9:35 left in the third quarter, but it didn’t help as Anthony Parker immediately made a three-point basket against the Chicago reserves. Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Ben Wallace, Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich never returned to the game.

“I never want to do that. On a night when the boo-birds are out I don’t want to embarrass the group like that,” Skiles said. “I thought I would take a gamble right there to see if someone could come into the game and be a catalyst for us. I felt like in unison that group was not performing really well.”

Andres Nocioni led Chicago with 20 points.

The vibe hasn’t been good in Chicago since the Bulls were involved in Kobe Bryant trade rumors less than two weeks ago. General Manager John Paxson put to rest the Kobe Bryant trade rumors less than a week ago, but some fans continued to chant “Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!” while the Bulls were down 30-plus points in the third quarter.

“Obviously the Kobe chants is something that never seems like it will never stop being talked about. We understand the crowd’s frustration. We’re very frustrated as well,” Hinrich said.

Ford thought the chants have been wearing on the Bulls.

“I’m pretty sure for what it seemed it looked like it kind of affected the guys, but I’m not sure,” Ford said. “I’m not in the locker room.”