Post Game Report Card: Raptors hold on for win against Clippers

The Toronto Raptors finished a 5 game Western Conference road trip with their second straight win, taking down the LA Clippers 91-80. At halftime the Raptors led by 29 points, having outscored the Clippers 30-11 in the second quarter. The third quarter saw LA storm back as the Raptors offence struggled to put up points and scored just 8 for the quarter. That being said, Toronto still held a 71-55 lead heading into the 4th. The Clippers continued to come though. A 12-2 run in favour of the home team put hearts in mouths for Raptors fans as the Clippers got to within 6.

Toronto eventually steadied, after Josh Smith missed what could have been a game changing 3, DeMarre Carroll rebounded his own miss before DeMar DeRozan scored from a drive. Austin Rivers and Blake Griffin turned it over on LA’s next two possessions as the Raptors were able to re-open a 10 point lead. The game was safe from that point on, a stall on the Clippers comeback midway through the fourth meant it was too little too late, and the Raptors in classic inconsistent, dramatic style moved to 9-6. Toronto were without starting centre Jonas Valanciunas who is expected to miss the next six weeks with a broken bone in his hand. Casey used just 4 of his bench players for the night, giving each starter at least 30 minutes.

Runs are going to happen. How you respond to them is what shows the true character of a team. #Raptors #RTZ

— Raptors Cage (@RaptorsCage) November 22, 2015

Offence: B

Carroll and DeRozan got the bulk of Toronto’s points finishing with 21 points each while Luis Scola proved effective with 20 points. Kyle Lowry struggled going 2-11 from the field however dished out 10 assists to finish with a double double. The team started like a house on fire and had a huge 63 points at the half, but uncharacteristically of this season the Raptors third quarter let them down and a total of just 28 second half points turned what could have been an amazing game offensively into a narrow escape. It certainly was a tale of two halves for the Raptors. The team was only 37% from the field but free throws saw the Raptors put up 29 points of 31 attempts.

Defence: A

The LA Clippers are said to have the best bench in the NBA. Their starters also include offensive weapons everywhere such as Blake Griffin, All-Star Chris Paul and old Raptors favourite Paul Pierce. Tonight they were held to just 80 points. In the second quarter they put up just 11, which is still better than what the Raptors did in the third. DeMarre Carroll grabbed four steals and the Clippers gave up 19 turnovers, 6 of which were on Griffin. The defence was solid tonight, the Clippers had no quarter over 25 and when it mattered most the Raptors were able to get back to back stops and re-establish a strong lead. Really good stuff from Carroll, Scola, and Joseph.

Rebounding: A

Without Jonas Valaciunas the Raptors were still able to out rebound the Clippers 46-42. Bismack Biyombo,who started for the first time this season, pulled in 14. Scola, DeRozan and Patrick Patterson were also helpful on the boards. The Clippers are a very strong rebounding team with the likes of DeAndre Jordan and Josh Smith so being able to outscore them in this department was a big factor in tonight’s win.

Game Ball: DeMarre Carroll

DeMarre Carroll finished with 21 points. He shot 8-13 from the field and added 5 boards and 4 steals. Defensively, Carroll has a reputation and tonight he lived up to it. Both Clippers forwards Paul Pierce and Blake Griffin were well contained. Carroll has proved his worth thus far for the Raps.