GREEN RESCUES RAPTORS IN LAST-SECOND WIN
RAPTORS 93, MAGIC 91
From a walk in the park to a fierce battle, the Toronto Raptors had to play two very different games on Tuesday night.
In the end, Danny Green, after turning in his worst defensive performance as a Raptor, allowing Evan Fournier to blow by him in the dying seconds for a gametying dunk, Green hit a fadeaway two-pointer to give the Raptors the 93-91 win.
Toronto had held red-hot Orlando, a team that had won 7 of 9 and had been scoring at will, to just 37 points on 33 per cent shooting at the half. However, the Magic broke out for 38 points in the third quarter, relentlessly shredding Toronto’s defence, setting up a see-saw fourth and the exciting grand finales. Toronto improved to an NBAbest 14-4, though its streak of 20 straight games scoring at least 100 points came to an end.
T-ROSS RETURNS
Former Raptor Terrence Ross is thrilled to be back on the court for the Magic after missing all but 24 games due to a devastating knee injury last season. Ross has played well, averaging nearly 15 points a game on 49 per cent shooting over his previous 10 games and said before this one he was eager to drop some buckets on his former teammates. “He’s playing well. His role is to come in and score,” Kyle Lowry said of his old pal.
“I think right now in this situation that’s what he’s suited for and it’s helping him and he’s showing his abilities to come off and be a scorer.”
SURGING MAGIC DRAW PRAISE
Orlando had won 7 of 9 heading into the game and was scoring at a high level, which captured the attention of the visiting Raptors. “They’ve got a lot of pieces and a lot of them play fast in the half-court and up and down and D.J. Augustin has been playing really well,” said C.J. Miles, who is expected back in the lineup on Wednesday in Atlanta. “They’re playing hard which is the biggest thing. You see the pace difference, the attention to detail that you didn’t see before. They’ve got onto a little run … It wasn’t about talent it was just about having everyone on one page and I think you’re seeing it,” Miles said.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse credited his counterpart, new Magic head coach Steve Clifford, for a lot of the turnaround. “He’s obviously a very good coach. You watch them play and they’re super organized,” Nurse said.
“That organization shows itself in the team being tied together on both ends. They always come down and are in the right places on defence.
“There’s a plan there on defence and you can see it. Offensively, they’ve been great. They’re playing with incredible execution, pace and rhythm on the offensive end,” he continued
AROUND THE RIM
With Kawhi Leonard an almost sure scratch for the game in Atlanta, the Raptors held out Miles for one more game to preserve wing depth for Wednesday. “Feeling real good, been able to get some work done the past few days, planning on getting back out there,” Miles said … OG Anunoby did not play due to the wrist injury he suffered in Boston, but was a possibility to face the Hawks … Toronto swept the season series with Orlando four of the past six years, but the Magic is no longer one of the worst teams in the NBA and proved it again in this competitive battle.