Raptors find late magic towin in Orlando
Before this game started, ORLANDO the question was raised whether the Toronto Raptors might overlook an Orlando team struggling in the standings and just now getting healthy.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey is constantly on guard against games like these, ones where the Raptors might fail to bring their “A” game thinking the result is predetermined.
Casey did what he always does and preached the need to remain professional, a message he has delivered so many times even he catches players rolling their eyes.
But Wednesday night was another example of why that message has to be delivered. For whatever reason, neither team decided defence was necessary in this one and, until about the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, this game was up in the air.
The Raptors pulled away late for the 117-104 win, but it was touchand-go for quite a while.
The fourth quarter saw the Raptors play a little defence, holding Orlando to just 4-for-16 shooting in the quarter to launch their final assault.
DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 21 points, followed by a 17-point, 11-assist night from Kyle Lowry.
The bench came up big again, with three Raptors subs — Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet — finishing in double digits.
STREAK IN JEOPARDY
Slowly but surely, OG Anunoby was coming out of his offensive shell, no longer content to just launch threes from the corner. His activity cutting to the basket and putting the ball on the floor and driving to the rim has been apparent the past few games.
Wednesday night in Orlando, one of those drives to the rim ended with Anunoby rolling his right ankle, prematurely ending his night.
Anunoby has yet to miss a game this year, joining fellow rookies Jayson Tatum in Boston and Mississauga’s own Dillon Brooks in Memphis among first-year players who can claim that.
He’ll have a day off Thursday in Washington to heal before the Raptors take on the Wizards Friday when we’ll learn if that streak will continue.
Casey and his coaching staff have cut back some of Anunoby’s minutes and he’s looking far more engaged recently to quiet talk of hitting the rookie wall.
Casey was talking before the game about getting Anunoby a little more animated as the season progresses.
Monday against Detroit, Lowry tried to get Anunoby to do just that after the rookie went inside and scored.
“That’s good for OG because he is such a calm young man, he needs to get excited,” Casey said. “He needs to show a little oomph. I don’t like seeing it but show a little flex or whatever. I mean, he just dunked on three people and it’s OK to get excited. I think that is what Kyle was doing. Trying to get him a little pumped up and give him a little something. It was good to see that.”
RAPTORS ARGUMENT
Even the best relationships can become strained over the course of a season and that appears to be what happened at least momentarily late in the first quarter between DeMar DeRozan and assistant coach Rex Kalamian.
Kalamian met DeRozan as he came off the floor. Whatever he said was returned in kind before a teammate stepped in front of DeRozan to keep it from escalating.
DeRozan then left the bench and went to the locker-room for the first four minutes of the second quarter.