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Raptors Report: Week 18
After a lengthy break, many thought Chris Bosh would be active for a home game against the Portland Trailblazers, but that was not the case. In the first quarter, the Blazers were unable to put a substantial point differential between themselves and their Canadian counterparts until the final minutes of the period when they led by 8. Heading into halftime, the lead had shrunk to six, and it appeared as if the Raptors could steal a win. Jarrett Jack took over in the third quarter, scoring, or setting someone else up to score the first 7 Raptors baskets of the second half. Jose Calderon was substituted in and the Blazers closed the quarter on a 9-2 run. At the end of the day, Portland cruised to a 101-87 victory.
Turnovers were the story, as the Raptors gave up 16 of them, leading to 17 points for the visitors. This was the first time in 21 games that Jay Triano’s team failed to eclipse the 100-point mark. The Trailblazers bench was huge, relieving Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge and Andre Miller. Roy, the former rookie of the year topped the box score with 20 points.
On Friday night at the Air Canada Centre, Toronto was missing their franchise player for the fourth consecutive game against a loaded Cleveland Cavaliers team. After an evenly played first half, the teams were all squared at 60, which is a feat in its own for the Raptors. Without Bosh, various players have filled the void. Rasho Nesterovic was key against New Jersey, and Jarrett Jack carried the load against the Wizards, but it was Reggie Evans who contributed a solid performance on this night. The gritty forward chipped in 13 points and 5 rebounds in his most productive game of the season. At the end of the third, Toronto was still hanging tough with the best team in the league and only trailed by four points with 12 minutes to play.
Cleveland controlled the final frame, but Hedo Turkoglu and Jarrett Jack didn’t bow out and thanks to a pair of free throws, the Raptors were on top 111-109. After a time out, LeBron James did what he does best, driving to the lane for a basket in traffic. Turkoglu attempted a shot that would have been the game winner, but it was off the mark and the game was headed to overtime. In the extra period, Anthony Parker burned his former team and the Cavaliers walked away with a 126-118. This loss is actually a victory in itself. The Raptors, without their best player, were able to take the best team in the NBA to overtime. Who knows what the outcome would have been had CB4 been able to play.
Bosh did not travel with his team to Oklahoma City for a matchup with the Thunder for a rare Sunday night road game for the Raps. The Thunder are led by ultra-talented small forward Kevin Durant, who is the second highest scorer in the league behind LeBron James. This game was over right from the get-go. Oklahoma rolled out to a 10-point lead midway through the first quarter. The lead grew to 14 by halftime and by the middle of the fourth quarter, the Raptors trailed by a whopping 28 points. Thanks to the scoring of Kevin Durant (29) and fellow youngster Jeff Green (20), the Thunder rolled to a 119-99 win.
In the coming week, the Raptors will travel to Houston before returning home for games against divisional opponents New York and Philadelphia. A 3-0 week is possible if they can squeak out a victory on the second night of a back-to-back against the Rockets.