Was two straight losses to end the road trip a blip, or a harbinger of thing to come for the Raptors? A win against the Grizzlies was a relief.
The Toronto Raptors needed a win badly, and that’s what they got – a bad win. But that’s markedly better than a good loss, and the mini-slump appears over. The Raptors shook off a display of poor shooting in Q1 to take a lead, which they never relinquished despite several Memphis runs.
The Memphis Grizzlies, a winning team though with a huge amount of roster turmoil, hung around this sluggish match longer than they should have. Fortunately the Raptors caught star guard Mike Conley on an off-night, and his Grizzlie mates didn’t have nearly enough offensive firepower to pick up the slack. Memphis coach Dave Joerger might have done better to switch his first- and second-unit men around. Lance Stephenson and Air Canada Carter scored 16 apiece off the bench, and Mario Chalmers had 17. Four of Memphis’ starters combined for 15.
The Raptors also had their share of hangers-on among the starters. James Johnson and Luis Scola were a combined 4 of 17, and didn’t hit a single 3-ball, despite 7 attempts. The ever-reliable backcourt did its thing, though: DeMar DeRozan, even having a mediocre shooting night, managed 21 points. His cover, the ill-tempered Matt Barnes, had 5 personal fouls and a technical. Kyle Lowry added 18, and Cory Joseph enjoyed an excellent time at home, scoring 14 points. His dagger 3-ball with just over a minute to play was greeted with a chest bump from an appreciative Lowry.
Terrence Ross looked sharp early, with a pair of successful drives to an unprotected hoop. But his propensity for bad decisions showed up once again, this time as the first half was ending. Vince Carter’s super-deep long ball was too tempting for our overeager swingman. He fouled Carter, who drained all 3 shots to cut the Raptors lead to 3. A chastened Ross was barely visible in the second half.
Jonas Valanciunas led the Raptors offense in Chicago, yet was all but forgotten by his mates this night. He still managed another double-double. Once he decided to step up to Zach Randolph, after watching three early jump shots go splash, his defense was tenacious.
With both teams shooting poorly, there were a lot of rebounds to be had. The Raptors won the boards battle 47-44. The best reflection of how sloppy this game was: both teams had the same number of assists as turnovers! Memphis was 13-13, and Toronto 12-12. The referees were out of it as well. Luis Scola was battered on a put-back…no call. He also had a cut opened by an elbow to the face, on a drive which could have been an offensive foul, but instead the basket counted.
I don’t want to carp too much. Toronto won all four quarters, didn’t give up the lead once they established it, made enough shots to keep the opponents at bay, and ended with their eighth straight win at the Air Canada Centre. It’s a long season, and sometimes you need to show you can win ugly. The Raptors did.