Raptors leave baggage behind
LONDON • The Toronto Raptors are becoming accustomed to putting in extra effort on their trans-Atlantic trips.
Kyle Lowry scored 24 points, Cory Joseph had 19 and the Raptors won their fourth straight game Thursday, holding off the Orlando Magic 106-103 before a soldout crowd at London’s O2 Arena.
The last time the Raptors ( 25-15) visited London, back in March, 2011, they lost in triple overtime to the Nets, a see-saw game that saw DeMar DeRozan and former Raptors centre Andrea Bargnani both miss last- second shots.
This time, DeRozan had 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors avenged a Nov. 6 loss in Orlando that spoiled Toronto’s franchise- best 5- 0 start.
Seven Raptors reached double figures, with Jonas Valanciunas scoring 13, and Bismack Biyombo, Patrick Patterson and Luis Scola each getting 11.
Victor Oladipo scored 27 points and Evan Fournier had 21 as Orlando ( 20-19) lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Nikola Vucevic had 17 points and 11 rebounds for t he Magic, while Tobias Harris had 16 points and 11 boards.
Canadian Andrew Nicholson came off the bench for the Magic, scoring six points in three minutes.
Two free throws by Lowry put Toronto up 105-100 with 43 seconds left in overtime, but Oladipo answered with a three-pointer.
After a missed shot by Lowry, he redeemed himself by stealing the ball from Oladipo and drawing a foul from Harris. Lowry made one of two, making it a threepoint game.
Vucevic saw his last-seconds hot from near the halfway line bounce off the rim, giving Toronto a hardearned win.
The wild finish came after the Raptors gave up an 11-point lead in the final 7:34 of the fourth quarter, with Oladipo’s jumper tying it at 96-96 with 32 seconds to go.
After a missed shot by Lowry, Oladipo had a chance to win it for Orlando, but missed a 21-foot jumper with seven tenths of a second remaining.
After a replay review to determine possession, the Magic got the ball under Toronto’s basket. Harris inbounded the ball to Jason Smith, but his shot bounced off the rim, sending the game to overtime.
Following a trio of pregame anthems, Lowry and Vucevic stood side by side at centre court and thanked the London crowd for coming out to the game.
One of four Europeanborn players, Lithuania’s Valanciunas received the loudest cheer during introductions. The others were Fournier, from France, Vucevic, representing Montenegro, and Magic forward Mario Hezonja, from Croatia.
The game attracted a large number of celebrities, including retired heavyweight boxer Lennox Lewis, Montreal Impact striker Didier Drogba, actor Michael B. Jordan and chef Gordon Ramsey.
Between the first and second quarters, five former NBA stars were honoured at centre court. The quintet was made up of British-born NBA star John Amaechi, former Magic star Horace Grant, Canadian Rick Fox and former Raptors Muggsy Bogues and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Several fans wore Raptors jerseys and at least two waved Canadian flags.
Even in a foreign land, there was one familiar face in the crowd for the Raptors. Noted “Superfan”’ Nav Bhatia sat in a front row seat along the baseline at the same end as Toronto’s bench.
Another familiar figure was The Raptor, Toronto’s furry dinosaur mascot who roamed the crowd and donned a chef ’s outfit while posing f or a photo with Ramsey.