The Toronto Raptors made it 8 wins in a row as they completed a season sweep of the Los Angeles Clippers in a 112-94 victory at the Air Canada Centre. It was the Clippers who started the better of the sides taking a 34-27 lead to end a high scoring first quarter. Toronto however immediately bounced back in the second outscoring the Clippers 35-15 to gain full control heading into the half. At that stage DeMar DeRozan had 15 points and was on par for another 30+ point game.It was a combination of strong defence from the Raptors and poor execution from the Clippers that allowed the Raptors to pull away. Patrick Patterson and Terrence Ross each managed 8 in the quarter as scorers were showing up left, right and centre. The Clippers who were without starter Blake Griffin did not respond as they needed to and the Raptors got their 8th straight win.
DeMar DeRozan was big in the first half with 15 but went quiet in the second half, only managing a late 3 in the third as he finished with 18 on 6-17 shooting performance. Kyle Lowry led the Raptors scoring with 21 points to go along with 6 assists. The other big 3 member Jonas Valanciunas poured in 20 of his own while reserves Terrence Ross (18), Patrick Patterson (10), Bismack Biyombo (10) and Corey Joseph (12) all managed to log double figures. For LA Chris Paul led the Clippers with a double double of 23 points and 11 assists but also had 4 turnovers.
Offence: A+
It was another big points scoring performance which saw the Raptors pour in 112. Unlike in recent games the scoring was well spread throughout the team. Lowry and Valanciunas led the way while the bench stepped up to combine for 51 altogether. The Raptors could have used more from their starters James Johnson and Luis Scola but on a night when the team scores 112 there is no cause for concern. This was a shooting performance to remember as the Raptors went 49% from the field and a huge 54% from the three.
Defence: A
The Raptors really put the clamps on in the second and managed to halt the Clippers across the board. While there were the times the Clippers seemed like their own worst enemy the Raptors did well to capitalize on the advantage, forcing 13 turnovers and pulling in 36 defensive boards to go with 3 blocked shots. Corey Joseph managed two steals and the team played an overall strong and relatively consistent defensive game that held the Clippers in all quarters but the first. The Raptors have now held opponents to under 100 points for the last two games.
Rebounding: A+
The Raptors outrebounded the Clippers 44 to 34, with another great night from Jonas Valanciunas who pulled in 8. Bismack Biyombo led the way with 9 while DeMar DeRozan and Luis Scola grabbed 5 a piece.
Game Ball: Corey Joseph
While so many options abound Corey Joseph stood out with a game high +34 impact on a night that also saw him pour in 12 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. On defence he remained productive as he came away with two steals in just over 22 minutes of basketball.
The Raptors 7 game home stand continues with a match up against Washington before welcoming the Knicks and Pistons to town.
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