The Toronto Raptors came away with a huge win against the Charlotte Bobcats at home. The Hornets have historically seemed to own this Raptors team, but tonight that was not the case. The Raps used a 30-12 fourth quarter run to take down the Hornets by a score of 104-94.
Kyle Lowry had 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and added 11 assists. He played his heart out tonight for 41 minutes. Unfortunately, Lowry appeared to tweak his ankle during the last play of the game, but I can’t imagine him being out for more than a couple of games, if anything.
Let’s get to the report card:
Offense: B+
The Raptors are lucky that the Hornets perimeter defense and rotations were weak; the Raps hit 15 threes and shot a very high 45% from deep. Aside from that, the offense was not great at all. Poor shot selection resulted in 39% shooting from the field. And for some reason, Bismack Biyombo once again got extended minutes down the stretch over Jonas Valanciunas when Bismack literally brings nothing to the offensive end. If Lowry, Patrick Patterson, Terrence Ross, and DeMarre Carroll didn’t have the three point shot rolling, it would have likely been a totally different story.
DeMar DeRozan and Lowry led the way with 23 and 18 points respectively, however neither were efficient by any means. The offense was balanced at least, but don’t let the 104 points fool you into thinking this was a pretty offensive game – especially in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
Defense: A-
I have to give it up to the Raptors for playing some very tough defense down the stretch. The Hornets scored just 12 points in the fourth. Ross and Patterson really brought it defensively, and Lowry dug in deep to contain Kemba later in the game.
Rebounding: A
This was a big edge for the Raps. The Raptors outrebounded Charlotte by a total of 54-43, including 20 offensive rebounds. Valanciunas led the way with 13, and Biyombo followed with 11. The second chance points in this one were huge – it clearly wore down Charlotte, which led to defensive lapses.
Game Ball: Kyle Lowry
Kyle shot 6-16, but his willpower fueled the Raptors in this one. He finished with 18 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds, and was a game best +15 on the night. What makes a player great is what they can bring you when their game isn’t working. MVP.
