FIVE HOME OPENER MOMENTS
Twists and turning points
The face plant that preceded the belly flop The Raptors were in a tight game late in the first quarter when their prime free-agent acquisition, DeMarre Carroll, took a spill on a wild drive to the basket. The team’s starting small forward and defensive leader went face-first onto the court and stayed down as the play moved down the floor to the Raptors basket. Carroll was tended to by trainers and helped off of the court, with ice on his left hand. The team announced that he’d suffered an elbow contusion and he returned in the second quarter. Carroll played 41 minutes in his Raptors debut.
Be like Jonas The Raptors’ offence fell apart late in the first quarter and through the majority of the second. They were saved by centre Jonas Valanciunas, who was essentially the only player that kept the Raptors remotely in the game. He was a very efficient 6-of-8 from the field for 12 points and nine rebounds in the half. The big man hit the double-double mark in the third quarter and continued to score, notching his 14th point on a pretty spin move through the paint that he finished with a hook shot and grabbed a key rebound with 37 seconds left to play and his team up three. He finished the night with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
This is how we do it, Toronto With the Raptors down 45-37 at the half, there wasn’t much to cheer about. Montell Jordan, he of mid-1990s R&B fame, tried to change that with a very personalized version of his hit, This Is How We Do It. Toronto-ized stylings included: This is how we do it, it’s Wednesday night / and I feel all right / the party’s here in Toronto / Toronto does it like nobody does / the party’s here on the north side / the Raptors do it like nobody does. This last lyric wasn’t a good thing at that point (the Raptors shot 33 per cent in the first quarter and 36 per cent in the half) but not inaccurate.
Here comes the backcourt That halftime deficit felt worse than it was. Shooting 1-for-7 from the field in the first half (and a surprising 5-of-10 from the freethrow line), DeMar DeRozan found his game in the third quarter and added eight points. Kyle Lowry (seven points, two assists at the half) scored 10 and handed out three more assists to help the Raptors make a 12-point third-quarter swing and pick up a four-point edge after 36 minutes, leading 72-68. After allowing 30 in the first quarter, the Raptors held Indiana to 42 over the next two and opened up a double-digit lead early in the fourth. DeRozan took the game over in the fourth quarter and finished with 25 points. Lowry added 23 and both had six assists in the win.
A thorn in the Raptors’ sides Pacers forward Paul George didn’t score in bunches but was a threat as the night progressed and his team inched closer to the Raptors lead, flirting with a triple-double. Despite a costly technical foul call against him that led to a threepoint Raptors swing in the fourthquarter, the two-time all-star gave his team a chance to win the game and tied it 93-93 with a tough shot. He finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, continuing his strong play from the preseason. George only played in six games last year after recovering from a fractured right leg.