On Wednesday, March 21, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Toronto Raptors, 92-84.

The Bulls needed a fourth quarter rally to pull off the win as they continue to march along without Derrick Rose on the court. Good teams find a way to win and the Bulls are that team.

Rose sat out for game No. 5 and is slowly on the mend; he continues to be day-to-day.

Wednesday’s win came from a recurring theme for this season: the Bull’s depth. Players again stepped up to cover the hole made by Rose’s absence. While he is the field general on the court, his troops are learning to lead without him. Some wins (such as Wednesday’s) aren’t pretty but the Bulls get it done.

After entering halftime with a 51-43 deficit, the Bulls needed to make some changes; you knew that taking home an L was not an option for coach Tom Thibodeau. He doesn’t like to lose.

It was a chilly third quarter for the Bulls and they trailed 69-62 entering the final quarter. I really couldn’t believe they were going to let the Raptors beat them.

But the Bench Mob stepped up and got the win for the team. Or should I say John Lucas III was the fourth quarter’s MVP.

The diminutive journeyman scored his 13 points for the night in the final quarter. It was a slow first half for the guard but when he was called off the bench by Thibodeau, he contributed.

Lucas said of Wednesday’s play, “I just wanted to come in with a lot of energy. The first half I felt like I was flat and I wanted to make it up. I said, ‘I’m just going to give it everything I have and just go out there and play my hardest and leave everything on the court.’”

Fellow Bench Mob player who stepped in the final 12 minutes was Kyle Korver. He also waited to score his 10 points of the night at the end, including one three-pointer, to contribute to a much-needed 20-0 run.

Taj Gibson added eight points.

Once again overcoming their injuries, Loul Deng led the team in scoring with 17 points and 10 rebounds while filling in for Rose, C.J. Watson, added 15 points.

The next game for the Bulls is a rematch against Toronto on Saturday, March 24.

As a lifelong Bulls fan and Chicago resident, the Derrick Rose era has been a good one.