« Raptors Report
Week 21
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On Wednesday night, the Toronto Raptors hoped to start off their week with a win against the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The team that came out to play was lethargic and seemed completely disinterested in the game. After 12 minutes, the Raptors trailed by 14 to a weak opponent. Their horrid start sealed their fate in this one, and they could never catch up. The Pistons went on to win 107-93. The Pistons’ two veterans who were with the team in their glory days, Richard “Rip” Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince paced their squad with 24 and 22 points apiece. Rodney Stuckey facilitated the offense, finishing with 14 assists off the bench.
Coming off their disappointing loss to the Detroit Pistons, the Raptors set their sights on a win against the lowly Washington Wizards. These teams are two of the bottom three in the Eastern Conference, so it should come as no surprise that the game was neck and neck for the majority of the 48 minutes. However, by the beginning of the fourth quarter, Toronto had established a large, 14-point edge. The Wizards kept on fighting, and trimmed their deficit down to a measly two points. Andrea Bargnani and company seemed to wake up at that point, and ended up coming away with the hard fought 116-107 victory. Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan both had big nights offensively, with 33 and 30 points respectively.
The road has not been kind to the Toronto Raptors this season. They have struggled mightily away from the friendly confines of the Air Canada Centre, and going into Sunday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they had lost 14 consecutive games as the visitor. In contrast, the Thunder entered the game having won their previous 6 contests. Oklahoma City proved their superiority early, running out to an early 8-point lead, but the Raptors clawed back and actually emerged from the first quarter with a lead. The second period was very evenly played, with both teams exchanging basket after basket. In the third, Toronto controlled the flow of the match, and by the end of the frame, they had built up a 10-point cushion.
The Thunder proved why they are an elite team in the NBA and came back to tie and eventually take the lead. With the game all square at 93, Amir Johnson scored on a hook shot with 1.4 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Oklahoma City superstar Kevin Durant got a decent look, but threw up an air ball that would have sent the game to overtime. Andrea Bargnani finished with a game-high 23 points.
In the coming week, the Raptors take to the court four times, all of them on the road. Their trip will take them through Denver, Phoenix, Golden State, and Los Angeles.