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Raptors Report: Week 11
The Orlando Magic had already disposed of the Toronto Raptors three times this season, and had done it rather easily. The Raptors are a much different team now than they were then, as they were riding high, winning 7 of their last 8, including a victory over the Spurs in their last time out. The Magic, on the other hand were going in the opposite direction after back to back losses to Bulls and Pacers. As a boost, the Raptors welcomed back point guard Jose Calderon to the rotation. The Spaniard came off the bench, contributing 5 points and 8 assists in 24 minutes of action. In my opinion, Jose is better coming off the bench, with Jarrett Jack handling starting duties at the point. Team chemistry is at an all-time high and you don’t want to throw that off.
After a first quarter in which the Magic shot 62% from the field, the Raps tightened up their defense, and Orlando’s percentage came down to earth in the second, leading to a 9-point advantage for Toronto at halftime. At the end of the third, the lead had doubled, and the game appeared to be over. That was not the case, as the Magic narrowed the gap to two in the dying minutes, but the Raptors were able to walk out of Orlando in the win column. All five Toronto starters finished in double digits, and Antoine Wright and Marco Belinelli contributed off the bench. Rashard Lewis led the way for Orlando with 24 points, while Dwight Howard finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, but 9 costly turnovers. With the victory, the Raptors moved back to the .500 mark and sit at 18-18 on the year. As an added bonus, the Raptors will not have to deal with the Magic again this season, except for a meeting the postseason.
Sandwiched between games against two Eastern Conference heavyweights was a trip to Philadelphia to play Allen Iverson, Andre Iguodala and the rest of the Sixers. Toronto trailed for most of the game, but it always felt as if the Raptors would emerge victorious. Trailing by one with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, Chris Bosh received the ball in the high post and went to work on Samuel Dalembert, converting a difficult right handed layup to go along with a foul. CB4 made the free-throw to put his team up by 2. On the final possession of the game, the Raptors locked down on defense, and forced a deep, off balance three-pointer at the buzzer to seal the win. After the desperation heave failed to hit its mark, the Sixers were booed off the court by their home fans. Bosh finished with a game-high 29 points, complemented by Andrea Bargnani’s 23. With the win, the Raptors moved over the .500 mark for the first time since they were 5-4 back in November.
The Raptors entertained the Boston Celtics Sunday afternoon, and looked to dish out some revenge against the team that dealt them their only loss in the last 9 games. Boston shot a blistering 51% in the first half and also took care of business on the defensive side of the ball, forcing 10 turnovers from the Raptors. The Celtics dominated the pace of the second half as well, as they only missed 6 shots in the 3rd quarter. The game was over when Rasheed Wallace nailed one of his many three-pointers with 6 minutes remaining to extend the lead to 14. The Raptors made a late run, but came away empty-handed, falling 114-107. Head Coach Jay Triano was noticeably more animated on the sidelines in this contest, and was charged with a technical foul. Leading the way for the visitors were the aforementioned Wallace, and nifty point guard Rajon Rondo, who finished with a triple double of 22 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Chris Bosh topped the Raptors with 31 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Hedo Turkoglu struggled mightily, missing his first 5 shots of the game, and two free throws to go along with that. The Turkish forward finished with five points
Next week, the Raptors will face two below average teams in Indiana and New York, before returning home for a tough test against the Dallas Mavericks.