Leonard leads Raptors back
Forward scores 37 points as Toronto improves to 7-2 in Game 2s at home
The Raptors gambled with Kawhi Leonard when he got two quick fouls in the first quarter, by leaving him in the game, and they gambled again when he got his third early in the second quarter and stuck with him once more.
Turned out to be wise decisions.
Leonard had a truly delightful game — 37 points on just 22 shots in only 33 minutes — as the Raptors routed the Orlando Magic 111-82 at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night.
The spanking pulled Toronto even at 1-1 in their best-of-seven series, which shifts to Orlando for games Friday and Sunday. Game 5 is in Toronto on Tuesday.
The manner in which the Raptors won was the most impressive aspect of the evening. They bottled up Orlando shooters, forced four times as many turnovers as they did Saturday — turning those into 26 points — and got sublime performances from their best players.
Leonard was at his absolute best when the Raptors put the game away with a 30-27 burst in the third quarter.
Playing all 12 minutes, Leonard was 7-for-9 from the floor and added an assist as Toronto took a 90-66 lead into the fourth. Most important, he did not pick up a foul and was able to get back in the game after a two-minute rest to start the quarter.
He played until he left to a standing ovation with less than five minutes to go.
In tying the series, the Raptors moved to 7-2 all-time in Game 2s at home, and 7-6 overall in the second game of any series.
They did with a dominating defensive performance from the opening tip, taking Orlando guard D.J. Augustin (nine points) and centre Nikola Vucevic (six points) right out of the game while it was still in doubt.
It’s not that the veteran-laden Raptors roster played with more intensity than they did in Game 1. It’s that they played with more intensity for far longer on the evening.
“I think 1-0 or 0-1, whatever it would be, we throw everything at ’em to try to win the game,” Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of a “desperation level” before the game began. “At this point in the season, you do whatever you need to do, whether it’s 3-0 or 0-2 or 2-1, 3-1, whatever it is. I think these games are all played to be won because they count an awful lot.”
Nurse did get huge games out of his most important players. Kyle Lowry, uncharacteristically scoreless in Game 1, exploded for 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field, and Pascal Siakam had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
For Nurse, the idea of sticking with Leonard made sense in two different ways. Leonard is notorious for not getting a lot of fouls, playing smart and not pushing things by taking unnecessary chances, and Nurse also likes the Leonard-Aaron Gordon matchup for Toronto.
The two played nearly mirrored time in Game 1, Leonard won the battle easily although Orlando won the game and getting desired matchups is important in this series for the Raptors coach.
“I think some of them are probably pretty obvious with (Nikola) Vucevic and (Marc) Gasol,” Nurse said of the centres matchup. “We’re pretty flexible though with Gordon, (Jonathan) Isaac, (Wes) Iwundu and Pascal, Danny (Green). Kawhi guarding those guys.
“And the T-Ross one we’ve gotta keep an eye on, too. We like to get somebody that can chase him and be physical with him. There’s some certain ones we’re trying to keep the matchups. It’s a big matchup game, big matchup series.”
Ross was the lone bright spot for the Magic, but even he cooled off after a torrid start. The ex-Raptor finished with 15 points and three three-pointers, but he did not score in the second half.
Vucevic, a miserable 3-for-14 from the floor in Game 1, was just 3-for-7 in Game 2 and a non-factor as Toronto dominated the entire game as they did the third quarter of Game 1.
“We had about an 81⁄ 2-, nineminute stretch there where we didn’t turn it over, but we didn’t get good shots. We didn’t get the ball into scoring areas enough,” Orlando coach Steve Clifford said of that Game1stretch. “And that’s what I would look for them to do, and we’ve gotta be able to run more efficient offence then.”