No Lowry, few problems against lowly Nets
Raptors pull away in second quarter with starting guard resting
• Dwane Casey has always said he would adjust accordingly when he felt the wear and tear on his stars was becoming too much.
Tuesday night was the first of those nights. It likely won’t be the last.
Kyle Lowry, some were whispering rather reluctantly, was told he was taking the night off to rest his bumps and bruises given the Toronto Raptors were going to be playing on consecutive nights.
For a half, it looked like the decision might prove to be a costly one against the Brooklyn Nets.
But just like last week in Toronto ( although that was with Lowry), the Raptors pulled away late, leaving no doubt who the second- best team in the East is and who the worst team in the NBA is during a 119-109 win.
But this was no walk in the park, particularly without Lowry to lean on.
It didn’t help matters when the team lost starter Lucas Nogueira midway through the first quarter after he took an elbow to his left eye and went back to the lockerroom to undergo concussion protocol.
Add in the fact Patrick Patterson was sitting out his seventh game in the past nine with a knee injury and the Raptors were somewhat thin.
Through a half, the rebuilding Nets were giving the short-handed Raps everything they could handle.
Brook Lopez was back to being the player he was when surrounded by the likes of former Nets Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
Also not helping matters was that without Lowry in the lineup, DeMar DeRozan was being doubleand triple- teamed at times. And while he was getting to the line with regularity, the added attention was playing havoc with his shooting percentage.
Through a half, DeRozan was just 3-for-14 from the field. Neither Jonas Valanciunas nor Norm Powell even managed to score in the first half despite playing almost 27 minutes combined.
DeRozan ended up with 36 points despite the added attention, but not without a big second half. He still wound up playing 36 minutes and may be a candidate for a night off Wednesday in Philadelphia.
Still the Raps were only down by three at the half due in large part to Cory Joseph, who already had a season- high 18 at that point, and Terrence Ross, who was his normal productive self off the bench.
Nogueira was eventually ruled out for the night following halftime, opening the door for Pascal Siakam, who has been a bit of a forgotten man since Casey went with Valanciunas and Nogueira as his starting bigs.
All Siakam did was come in and provide the kind of energy the Rap- tors dearly needed. It didn’t result in a ton of points — Siakam is still a little bit of an unfinished product when it comes to finishing around the hoop — but he did have a pair of blocks, a steal and generally was disruptive enough in the quarter to help swing the game in the Raptors favour. He played all 12 minutes and came out a plus-10 for the quarter.
But playing the role of Lowry and doing it very nicely without the aid of Lowry’s silky three- pointer was Joseph, who went off for a career-high 33 points by making 15 of 22 shots in almost 37 minutes.
Joseph, who is normally far more concerned with his defence and setting up his teammates, showed early on this was going to be a night where he knew he was going to have to score.
It was Joseph’s first start since April 8 of last season and he made the most of it.
The Raptors had a quick turnaround with a flight to Philadelphia after the game before Wednesday’s contest with the 76ers.
It being Lowry’s hometown, it would be a rather large surprise if he didn’t play in that one.