CHICAGO -- With eight wins in their last 11 games, the Toronto Raptors head into 2014 pointed in the right direction. Cody Zeller Jersey . They believe it can be the start of something big. Jonas Valanciunas scored 15 points and the Toronto Raptors mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Chicago Bulls 85-79 on Tuesday night. He made two big free throws to seal the game in the final minute after Toronto had missed three of four from the line down the stretch. Greivis Vasquez hit a 3-pointer two minutes into the fourth to give Toronto (14-15) its first lead of the second half, and the Raptors didnt look back. Vasquez scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter, and also had two assists and a blocked shot in the final quarter as Toronto overcame the tenacious Bulls defence. "Greivis came in and changed the game," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "It was a game of toughness and physicality that you have to have when you play if you are going to be in the playoffs. "That is how we will have to play to get there." Luol Deng led Chicago (12-18) with 16 points in his return to the court after missing five games due to a sore left Achilles tendon. Joakim Noah had a game-high 16 rebounds for the Bulls. Toronto shot 37 per cent through the first three quarters, but turned it up in the fourth making 10 of its 17 shots. Meanwhile, the Bulls went 4-for-24 from the field in the fourth quarter, falling to 1-6 at the United Center after starting the season 6-1. "The fourth quarter has got to be your best quarter," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "You have to have more intensity, your decision have to be quicker. We have to finish strong, we cant just flip the ball up there." Coming off of season-highs with 32 points and 11 assists Saturday against the Knicks, Kyle Lowry had a modest 12 and six against Chicago. The 27-year-old averaged 22.4 points over his last five games coming in, including 14-for-30 from 3-point range despite dealing with trade rumours. Lowry took an early breather after being whistled for a pair of fouls within the first five minutes. He didnt score until seven minutes into the second quarter when he knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing. He connected again from deep on the following possession. "We know we have a chance to do some things and we can take care of business when times get tough," Lowry said. "Pulling out these games is just showing that team camaraderie, the spirit that we have and were all happy for each other. Following his season-high 26-point performance Monday at Memphis, Jimmy Butler poured in 15 for Chicago (12-18). He completed a three-point play to pull the Bulls back within five with two minutes left, but they couldnt complete the comeback. Carlos Boozer missed his first seven shots and didnt find the scoring column until midway through the third quarter. Boozer, Noah and Kirk Hinrich combined to go 4-for-27 from the field. "We had the lead, and we didnt play as tough as we needed to with the lead," Thibodeau said. "We have to take a hard look at that." Deng was limited, playing 33 minutes. He averages just over 38 minutes per game. He acknowledged that he may be limited for a while longer. "I got into the game slowly," he said. "In the fourth quarter, I tried to be a little more aggressive and force it a little bit. I knew coming back, I was going to feel it anyway, but nothing too crazy, nothing too bad. Im happy with how it felt." Taj Gibson was the only player in double-figures when Chicago took a 42-36 lead into halftime. He finished with 12 points - two in the second half. Mike Dunleavy added 13 for Chicago, which had won three of its last four. Toronto has won two of the three meetings this season, the road team coming out on top each time. Notes: Bulls G D.J. Augustin, who was released by the Raptors on December 9, had six points and three assists on 3-of-4 shooting. Augustin shot just 1 for 7 from the floor against his former team on Dec. 14, a 99-77 loss. . Raptors F Amir Johnson was taken out in the second quarter due to a right knee injury, but returned minutes later after going to the locker room for treatment. He finished with nine points and six rebounds. Larry Johnson Jersey .C. -- Only two Syracuse teams have won their first 20 games, and C. Bismack Biyombo Jersey . As the only competitor to try two quads, much less complete them, Kovtun ended the day nearly nine points ahead of Japans Tatsuki Machida, who opened with a clean quad but then stepped out of the triple toe loop that was the second jump in his combination. http://www.cheaphornetsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-muggsy-bogues-jersey . LOUIS -- Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks won the matchup of unbeaten teams.BOSTON -- Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell would like to keep the World Series champions together for another run at a title. And yet he knows thats unlikely to happen. "That was felt when we got off the duck boats, knowing this was one last chance to celebrate with a million people in the city," Farrell said Monday, two days after the teams victory parade and hours before the deadline to make qualifying offers to four free agents who were key to the teams title. "Hopefully well be able to retain all of them. The reality is that might not work out." One year after a midseason and off-season overhaul that turned a last-place team into World Series champs, the Red Sox began building for 2014 on Monday by making $14.1 million qualifying offers to free agents Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Napoli and Stephen Drew. General manager Ben Cherington said the team decided not to make an offer to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, though he would like to re-sign the catcher. "Theres interest in every one of them," Cherington said. "I also think its unlikely that every one of them will be back. ... Were going to keep the conversation going with all of them, and also with alternatives, and see where the market shapes up. In a vacuum wed like to have all of them back." The Red Sox went from worst to first a year after dumping three of their biggest contracts -- Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford -- on the Los Angeles Dodgers at a savings of about $261.7 million. Instead of making a big splash in free agency last off-season, they signed mid-market players like Napoli, Drew, Shane Victorino and Koji Uehara. Cherington said the lessons learned from their successes and failures wont be forgotten. "I think we have to go into this off-season with the same general mindset: to build a roster as deep as we can," he said. "The general philosophy would lead us toward a lot of the same things we were looking for last year." The oft-injured Ellsbury is expected to seek a long-term deal averaging $20 million or more. A year after missing more than half the season, he played in 134 games and batted .298 with nine homers, stealing 52 bases in 56 tries. "Jacobys a terrific player, as everyone knows. Of course we know were a better team when hes on the field than when hes not," Cherington said, adding that if they cannot sign him they would consider moving Victorino, who won a Gold Glove in left field, to centre field and looking for a corner outfielder. "That would be one possibility," Cherington said. "We recognize how good he was in right field, and how valuable his defence was in right field. Hes capable of doing it." Napoli and Drew might accept the qualifying offer or use it as the basis for negotiations on a multiyear contract. Saltalamacchia, who made $4.5 millionn this year, could still re-sign with the team at a lower salary. Percy Miller Jersey. . The Red Sox declined to make qualifying offers to infielder John McDonald and reliever Joel Hanrahan, who were not on the World Series roster. Also Monday, the team said outfielder Quintin Berry and infielder Brandon Snyder were sent outright to Triple-A Pawtucket and became free agents. Right-handers Andrew Bailey and Alex Wilson, outfielder Ryan Kalish and left-hander Andrew Miller were reinstated from the 60-day disabled list. "The game doesnt stop," Farrell said. "The baseball calendar doesnt stop just because we played to nearly Halloween." Complicating Napolis negotiations is a hip condition that prompted the team to back out of a $39 million, three-year deal that had been tentatively agreed to and instead sign him to a one-year contract for a guaranteed $5 million with performance bonuses -- which he eventually earned -- that brought him back to $13 million. "Mike Napoli played a lot this year and was a huge part of our team," Cherington said. "Were making a qualifying offer to him, so we obviously have interest in him returning on a one-year deal for $14.1 million. Hell have an opportunity to consider that." On other topics Monday: -- Koji Uehara, who inherited the closer job and was selected the AL championship series MVP, is the leading contender for the job in 2014. The Japanese right-hander, who will turn 39 in the first week of the season, is coming off a season in which he set career-highs with 73 appearances and 74 1-3 innings. "I think were completely comfortable starting next year with Koji as our closer," Farrell said. "He didnt leave here with any physical ailments. We went into this spring with the same thought, that we need to be careful with his age and his workload. And he exceeded everything." --Cherington is content heading into spring training with six candidates for the starting rotation: Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Jake Peavy, Felix Doubront and Ryan Dempster. "We could certainly envision a scenario where every one thats currently under contract is in Fort Myers. And in fact, at this point, thats what I would expect," Cherington said. "Well see what the off-season brings." --Second baseman Dustin Pedroia has not yet had surgery on a torn ligament in his left thumb. "As far as I know, theres been no date or site set for the surgery," Cherington said. "But it certainly looks like its headed in that direction." --Cherington said no other teams have asked for permission to interview Red Sox coaches for other jobs. Bench coach Torey Lovullo is reportedly a candidate for the managerial job with the Chicago Cubs, who are run by former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. ' ' '