FULL-COURT PRESS
It’s almost like the Raptors are ordering these things up ... Griffin takes over behind the bench for a night ... Testy Kyle is the best kind of Kyle
The script is writing itself for the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors won for the sixth time in seven tries since these seeding games began and did so while getting some rest for some key starters for the second game in a row and then had the very end of the bench pull this win out.
A 125-121 win over the Philadelphia 76ers had just about everything the Raptors might have written up in advance.
Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet returned from their night off and got right back into the flow of the game, Lowry with 19 points and three assists, VanVleet with 10 and six assists in a manageable 25 minutes each.
Both were pivotal in keeping the Raptors in a game that the 76ers kept threatening to put out of reach early. Then it was Chris Boucher’s turn for the second night in a row as the Raptors third centre on the depth chart showed again that if needed, he can produce.
A game after a career-high scoring night, Boucher put up another 19 to go along with nine rebounds and four blocks.
But the real heroics, as they often do in these games, came in the dying minutes with coach Adrian Griffin — taking over the head coaching duties for the night while Nick
Nurse watched from the seats — putting the result in the hands of Dewan Hernandez, Malcolm Miller, Stanley Johnson, Matt Thomas and Paul Watson.
Johnson had the winning basket off a miss by Hernandez, while Thomas, of course, chipped in with a must-have three late. Watson had the drive of the night, also late before laying one in through traffic while Miller provided the defence the team needed down the stretch.
It helped overturn what at one point was a 16-point 76ers lead.
As entertaining as anything on the floor were the two teams’ respective starters in the unfamiliar role of cheerleaders on the bench. The two sides had as much fun cheering on the guys who normally handle that role when they’re playing.
“We’re always talking to those guys, telling them to be ready for the opportunity,” Raptors guard Norm Powell said.
“You know, when they get a chance to go out there in those types of minutes not to (waste) them, go out there and play the game the right play, play aggressive and go out there and show that you belong. I really talk to those guys because I’ve been in that situation and I want them to succeed. Not only me but everybody on the team.”
It really was one of those perfect nights for everyone in Raptors’ colours.
ONE SEAT OVER
Nurse has gone to great lengths to promote his assistants as much as possible since he became a head coach.
So it wasn’t that big of a surprise that Nurse would hand the reigns over to lead assistant Griffin for last night’s game.
Griffin was appreciative of the gesture.
“Coach is an awesome human being,” Griffin said before the game. “He understands that a coach like me that needs some reps at being a head coach. He knows my ambitions and he wants to see me grow as an individual on and off the court. Definitely just an awesome gesture by coach. He approached me with it and it just kinda shows what kind of character that coach Nurse has.
“You know, we have a firstclass organization for a reason. You start from the top with Masai (Ujiri) and Bobby
(Webster) and coach Nurse. There’s a reason why we’ve had success over the years.” Griffin said it’s all about the reps.
“Just like when athletes and basketball players are training in the summer, there’s nothing compared to game condition,” he said. “You know, you can work out all you want, but until you get in those games and you get up and down the court, there’s a difference. And I think it’s the same way. It’s really equivalent to an assistant coach moving over to that chair. You do all the training that you can and practice, but it’s good to get those game reps.
After the game and the win he was feeling pretty good.
“I have to thank coach Nurse,” he said. “He didn’t have to do this. Honestly for one night I felt like Cinderella. I had the glass slippers on and it was great. Tomorrow it’s back to reality but it was an awesome feeling.”
KYLE RILED IS A GOOD THING
If you’ve watched enough Raptors basketball, you know the best thing that can possibly happen for the Raptors is for Lowry to get ticked off in a game.
Lowry responds, pretty much exclusively, by taking his play to the next level.
Often it’s an opponent who gets Lowry going, but Wednesday night it was a referee. Official David
Guthrie, for whatever reason, took offence to Lowry’s “and-1” call following a made basket and some contact from a Philadelphia defender.
It’s something players do with regularity. Maybe it was just a little too loud in an arena lacking fans for the official in question.
Regardless, the perceived injustice did what all perceived and real injustices do to Lowry — it sparked him.
Lowry would score eight points over the final 2:22 of the second quarter getting the Raptors right back in a game that was threatening to be all Philadelphia.
Now, Lowry always plays well against his hometown team, but Guthrie just made sure that fire burned a little brighter. Lowry would score 19 points in the second quarter and cap the quarter with an end-to-end one-man fast break in 5.9 seconds to score before the buzzer sounded. He had some words for someone after the basket and if we were a better lip-reader we would tell you what he said, but even not being in the building and without a good look at who he might be talking to, we would bet money it was Guthrie.