Raptors set season highs in points, field-goal percentage to surprise Rockets,
Calderon and Derozan lead attack vs. Rockets
Of course there were doubts in Dwane Casey’s mind as the17-point lead dwindled to 12 and then 10 and then eight and then six and then four.
Of course he was thinking about all the other Raptors implosions this season, the countless times they’d arrived at crunch time only to cower.
It was going through the minds of the players, too, and probably the fans and no one would have been terribly surprised if the game had gone down to one final possession, or the last minute, at least.
But for once — and, oh, how Casey wishes it would become the norm — the Raptors dug in and made those “winning plays” the coach is always harping on about, eventually rolling to an easy 116-98 win over the Houston Rockets at the Air Canada Centre.
“We kept our composure, stayed relaxed and confident,” said Jose Calderon, whose excellence with 17 points and 12 assists sparked the Raptors. “We made those mistakes other games . . . today we were a little bit more calm, a little bit like, ‘Okay, let’s keep playing the way we’re playing.’ We just executed better.” And won easily, for a change. The 116 points were the most the Raptors have scored in a game this season; a 34-point explosion in the fourth quarter was the most prolific period of the season; the 59.2 per cent shooting from the floor was the highest percentage in any game this year.
However nice those statistics are, though, nothing was nicer than the way the Raptors responded when the Rockets made things dicey in the fourth. A lead that had once been as big as 17 points had dissipated to four with just over seven minutes and the “Oh, no; here we go again” thoughts were in everyone’s head. But a series of good stops led to a handful of easy transition baskets and a 22-4 run that ended with a Linas Kleiza dagger of a threepointer with 2:11 to go. “I thought they had us where they wanted us,” said Casey. “A veteran team like that you never relax in those situations but I was happy the way our guys bounced back, made a run, got back into it defensively and got out in the open floor and made good decisions.
“Other than driving me crazy, it was good. I was glad to see we did bounce back and make winning plays. That little stretch of time has been our bugaboo all year and tonight we fought back and fought through it.” Demar Derozan, continuing a stretch of eight or 10 of his best offensive games of the season, led the Raptors with 23 points. He took the ball to the basket when the opportunity arose — he was 7-for-8 from the free throw line — and made the right decisions when his path the rim was impeded.
It’s like a bulb has gone on in his head of late; he’s now scored more than 20 points in seven of his last nine games.
“We get that consistency,” said Casey. “I think this is probably the most games he’s had in a consistent way of getting to the free throw line, a good balance of shooting jump shots, free throws, getting to the basket. He’s doing a much better job of being consistent. And he’s playing with a lot of confidence, which is huge in this league.”
But even in victory, Casey saw room for improvement. Even during the late run, there were too many moments of loose play.
“We kind of threw it around when we should have been playing smart, milking (the clock) a little more, executing more even though you have a lead,” he said.
“Playing with a lead is one of the hardest things to do, and again, win, lose or draw we have to learn every time we walk on the floor and that’s what I was imploring our guys to do, make good decisions even if you’ve got a big lead.”