There it is— win #34. The date is March 7th. There are 22 games remaining in the regular season for the Toronto Raptors. The team finished with 34 total wins a year ago. Needless to say these are good times north of the border.
Tonight, the Raptors were able to continue their winning ways, as they emerged victorious over the Sacramento Kings by the score of 99-87. Following a rare four-day break in between games, the home team was able to remain focused while they put on a show for the energetic ACC crowd. In addition to this caveat, this matchup marked the first time that Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy, and Aaron Gray played in Toronto since being shipped out of town back in December.
Offense: B
The offense for the men in white was relatively balanced in this one. Terrence Ross scored a team-high 18 points (6 for 8 from beyond the arc) in the victory, leading the way while DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry both struggled from the field (combining to shoot 6 for 24). Fortunately for Toronto, the offensive heroics of the talented backcourt duo weren’t needed in this game, since five Raptors were able to hit double-digits on the scoreboard. DeRozan and Lowry at least making free-throws (shooting a combined 14 for 18 from the charity stripe) didn’t hurt, either.
The ex-Sacramento King Patrick Patterson deserves some love in this section of the report card too, seeing as he provided a much-needed spark off the bench versus his former squad. The stretch-4 not only contributed 15 points, but also spaced the floor exceptionally well so that his teammates could orchestrate the right plays.
Even though the shots in the lane weren’t all falling during the early stages of the game, the strategy of attacking the basket worked pretty well for the Raptors. One significant development came in this game when DeMarcus Cousins was charged with his third foul midway through the second quarter; as his exit left more space in the painted area for the Raptors to utilize.
Defense: A
The offense won’t be spectacular every night, so it’s important that the defense is maintained at a high level for the Toronto Raptors. It was definitely up there tonight. While the Kings were fouled quite often in this one (in a fashion similar to the last time these two teams met), they were atrocious from the free throw line. Why were they fouled so often? Because Toronto wasn’t allowing them to get anything easy. Former Raptor (there are a lot of them in Sac-Town right now) Reggie Evans brought his usual grit to the table— providing interior toughness and grit, but also providing some really, really bad free throw shooting. The Kings shots from the stripe weren’t falling (22 for 37; 59.5%), and neither were their shots from the field.
Rudy Gay didn’t do much to help his new team when it came to giving them some sort of offensive boost tonight. The swingman shot 5 for 13 and finished with 15 points in his return to the ACC. Was it the boos (which don’t make much sense) from the crowd that caused him to shoot so poorly? No. The credit goes to the Raptor wings who knew how to make Rudy feel uncomfortable in this one. Job well done.
Before I move on, I have to address the defensive turning point that occurred during this game. It came in the third quarter when Dwane Casey subbed out Jonas Valanciunas and elected to roll with Chuck Hayes, as opposed to Tyler Hansbrough. People may not have noticed, but Hayes’ defense on DeMarcus Cousins (who had return back onto the floor at this point) was impeccable. It was one of the key facets that pushed the Raptors to make the run that ultimately closed out the game. I must say, Casey’s been doing a lot more good than bad since the transaction that happened a few months back.
Rebounding: B
37 boards isn’t anything to write home about, but in a game like this one, I’ll take it. Sacramento pulled down 39 rebounds of their own, with only nine of them coming off the offensive glass. Because of the aforementioned Raptors defense the Kings weren’t able to mount a substantial number of second chance points. While Reggie Evans tallied a game-high 10 boards, Amir Johnson was able to come away with nine boards of his own.
Game Ball – Patrick Patterson
Patterson showed up tonight and was a huge part in Toronto getting their 34th victory of the season. His statistics aren’t always eye-popping, but he always finds ways to contribute to the team. He stretches the floor and pulls opposing big men outside of their defensive comfort zone, he moves the ball and he plays sound defense. Can’t ask for much more, considering where he is in the rotation. The Raptors looked like they needed a jolt during certain instances in this game, and Patterson came through with it.
