Raptors 111 – Detroit Pistons 107: It almost slipped away
By Brian Boake
The Raptors’ win streak reached eleven by defeating the Pistons, but the final few minutes were painful to watch.
The Toronto Raptors looked like they were going to run away and hide from a tired Detroit Pistons squad in Q4. Yet after building a 20-point lead with just over six minutes left, how was it they were life and death to fend off Detroit at the end? Toronto went into one of their offensive meltdowns which they are prone to, and the Pistons found the range from beyond the arc. With eight seconds left, Luis Scola committed a shocking turnover, inbounding a pass directly to Piston guard Darrun Hilliard, who converted the layup. Somehow the lead was four. The Raptors managed a successful inbound, and DeMar DeRozan drained both free throws after the obligatory foul. Brandon Jennings missed a 3-ball, and Aaron Baynes’ putback jumper at the buzzer meant nothing. The Raptors’ eleventh straight victory was in the books.
It didn’t come easy. The Raptors were badly outscored from beyond the arc, making only 4 long balls to the Pistons’ 9. Our free-throw shooting wasn’t crisp either, although it was better than Detroit’s. That’s no compliment; the Pistons were an embarrassing 20 of 34. They scored 39 field goals to Toronto’s 36, yet still lost.
James Johnson, who had been playing under a cloak of invisibility his last few games, shed it early and had nine points before halftime. DeMar DeRozan made some tough shots, but missed several easy ones from in close after working his way to the hoop. Kyle Lowry was turnover-prone; he looked like he was still playing the New York Knicks, who have no ballhawks, unlike Detroit.
Brandon Jennings helped the Pistons with some fine outside shooting, set up several times by his own steals. Andre Drummond looked like a man suffering a sort of physic pain. He’s clearly terrified of getting to the free-throw line, which is understandable considering his ineptness there. He made one of nine, that one coming on his only attempt to use the board. Drummond is a hothead, and fouled out with 6:37 to play. Perhaps he was miffed the Raptors were holding him to below-average results in both points and rebounds.
Bismack Biyombo had a wonderful game. He racked up a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds in 21+ minutes, and protected the paint well enough to block 3 shots. Several of his buckets were formful mid-range jump shots. If Biyombo can actually become a threat out to 12 feet, the Raptors’ second unit will become even more dangerous than it already is. Biz was plus_15, while Jonas Valanciunas was minus_12 on the night.
Adding to the second unit’s effectiveness was Cory Joseph with 16 points. His reverse scoop shot was a thing of beauty, and led to a 3-point play in Q2. CoJo continues to use both hands as necessary to finish at the rim.
Kyle Lowry had no assists, which is surreal. His shooting was sub-standard (4 of 15 – yuck!) all night, and he needed to work hard to total 18 points. DeRozan rediscovered his mid-range jumper so, even without benefit of a single 3-ball, he led all scorers with 29.
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In their first game of six on the road, the Raptors take their winning streak to the thin air of Denver looking for payback against the Nuggets.