Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Rarely will you see a Sunday night home game at the Air Canada Centre. As the nation of Canada basked in the glory of its gold medal win this morning in Sochi, the Toronto Raptors played a relatively quiet game against the Orlando Magic. It wasn’t pretty through the first two quarters, but a strong performance sparked by Kyle Lowry in the third frame was enough to ensure a 105-90 victory in favour of Toronto. Lowry contributed a team-high 28 points and 6 assists, while DeMar DeRozan helped with 24 points and 4 assists on 9-17 shooting.
Offense: A-
The home team came out to yet another slow start tonight. They failed to gain any sort of offensive momentum, and held only a 44-41 advantage at halftime. The Raptors found themselves matched on both ends of the floor, and were particularly sluggish in scoring inside the paint. Dwane Casey undoubtedly addressed this at the break, and his team responded. Lowry led the charge in the third quarter, shooting 4-5 from three point range and pouring in 17 points. Toronto shot a staggering 86% from the field in this time, and the Magic could not keep up with the blistering offense. The Raptors carried their restored energy into the fourth quarter, shooting 46.7%, and coasted to an easy victory.
Defense: B
As mentioned before, it was an even fight between both teams in the first half of action. While Toronto was unable to create a sizable lead, they held off Orlando until the break. The key stat here is the 32-14 advantage in paint scoring, held by the Magic. The Raptors gave up easy looks in the post and did a poor job of defending the rim. While their defense certainly buckled down in the second half, it is worth noting the absence of Amir Johnson, who suffered a nasty ankle injury and did not return.
The team performed well after his exit, outscoring their opponent 61-49 in the last two quarters. However, the possibility of a prolonged absence of Johnson is concerning to say the least, considering his key role in the Raptors’ defense.
Rebounding: A
The Raptors locked down on the boards tonight and won the overall rebounding battle, 50-32. Jonas Valanciunas pulled down 9 rebounds, with 3 coming from the offensive end. Despite his premature exit, Johnson had contributed a solid 8 rebounds to his team’s stat line. On the opposing side, Tobias Harris led his team with 6 boards as forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis was recently bought out and shed his rebounding responsibilities.
Game Ball/Gold Medal: Kyle Lowry
What’s cooler than being cool? Kyle Lowry. The veteran was ice cold tonight, and shot lights out from three-point range. He willed his team to a much-needed third quarter push and continues to lead by example. Lowry deserves every bit of recognition he gets- his play tonight was absolutely dominant and exciting to watch.
