Raptors 105: Orlando Magic 100: improv night
By Brian Boake
The Raptors rookies have spent a ton of floor time with the 905. Against the Magic, Norman Powell and Delon Wright got their chance to step up.
The Toronto Raptors were playing their fifth game in seven nights, and coach Dwane Casey took a gamble. He put the responsibility of defeating the Orlando Magic on eight members of his roster and rested the balance. Despite allowing the Magic to hang around all game, and missing a boatload of free throws, his tiny rotation rewarded their bench boss’ faith.
First Half
The Raptors got off to the kind of start they needed to, pulling ahead 15-5 after less than 6 minutes. But the finger-in-the-dike lineup started to slip after that. Norman Powell seemed tentative and Delon Wright was substituted in early. Cory Joseph dressed but wasn’t playing, so Kyle Lowry got more minutes than I’m sure coach Casey wanted him to have.
Luis Scola wasn’t as sharp as he was against Boston, though he did chip in on a few runouts, as Elfrid Payton offered several reminders of why he shouldn’t handle the ball for Orlando. The Raptors were challenging the paint successfully, but forcing fouls is only helpful if you make the shots. Toronto was a disappointing 15 of 23 from the charity stripe, meaning Orlando wasn’t paying a full price for its gaffes.
Orlando’s ball movement offense began to click in Q2, and they had enough open looks to score 30 points on 12 field goals. They needed to hit their jumpers, since Bismack Biyombo had declared Death to Flying Things near the hoop. He had six blocked shots on the night, and countless changed ones.
Second Half
The Raptors offense had no motor early, and Orlando extended their lead to 8 points halfway through Q3. Fortunately, a pair of 3-balls brought the game back within reach. DeMar DeRozan took 7 shots, but only his last one, with less than a second on the clock, fell in. The Raptors were stuck two entering Q4.
As in the Boston game, Toronto’s defense came alive in crunch time. Mississauga’s Andrew Nicholson, the forgotten man of the Magic, scored nine points but the rest of his mates were stymied. Victor Oladipo had 21 points entering Q4, and 21 exiting it.
The Raptors tied the game on a sweet bounce pass from Lowry to the cutting Biyombo mid-way through, then took the lead for good on a hoop from Jason Thompson. Our newest man played the entire quarter, as did Lowry. Meanwhile, coach was substituting frantically, in order to have Scola as the designated passer from the sideline. Terrence Ross, who had a solid game, needed to come out after opening a cut on his head after a highlight-reel jam of an offensive rebound.
The last few minutes were draining, but our team ended with the bigger number. DeRozan led a balanced attack with 25 points, while Biyombo enjoyed a double-double of 12 and 11. Luis Scola provided half of Toronto’s six 3-balls. All eight Raptors who played made at least one hoop.
Conclusion
The Raptors are within one game of the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers. Our team doesn’t play again until a visit to Boston on Wednesday. Here’s hoping coach doesn’t allow Kyle and DeMar to do anything more strenuous on Monday than take their families to the park. Rest, guys, rest.