Grades as the Toronto Raptors get back on track against the Phoenix Suns
The Toronto Raptors ended their three-game losing streak with a win on the road against the Phoenix Suns. How did everyone grade in the win?
Thankfully, the Toronto Raptors have got back on track in the nick of time. Heading into a tough road trip on the back of two losses is never fun, and when they added a third against the Denver Nuggets, there was maybe a slight worry that it could spiral out of control on the road.
However, the Raptors did enough to eradicate those fears on Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns. It wasn’t easy; the Raptors didn’t have a true center yet again, so OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam split those minutes against Deandre Ayton to great effect.
It definitely didn’t start well either, as the Raptors gave up 39 points in the opening quarter and fell behind by 17 points after Kyle Lowry had to leave the court following an inadvertent shot to the eye from Terence Davis. The prospects of the Raptors mounting a comeback, at the time, didn’t seem particularly great.
The Raptors did just that, though. Led by Siakam, Lowry, Norman Powell, and an incredible performance off the bench from Chris Boucher, they chipped away at the Suns lead and took the game from them in the third quarter.
Injuries still plague this team, but the effort is always there. Nick Nurse has a group of guys that are willing to give their all every game. After a tough stretch of games, Siakam silenced his doubters with a melodic 33 points, with Lowry and Powell knocking down 28 and 26 respectively.
The Raptors defended hard and hit the glass even harder. At times, it didn’t even seem like they were missing a true big man – that’s how impressive they were, holding the Suns to just 38 points in the paint.
Always good to get a win, and it feels even better when it can break a bad run.