In case you missed it, last night Toronto Raptors second year swingman Terrence Ross scored a career high 51 points against the Los Angeles Clippers tying a Raptors franchise record. A record held by none other than the second greatest Raptor in franchise history, Vince Carter. It’s been almost 14 years since Carter’s record was set, and Ross was presented with the opportunity to break it; by heading to the free throw line with 50 points already under his belt. This was a huge moment for everyone, and Ross probably wasn’t aware of the magnitude (pop! pop!) of that situation. No matter what seems to happen, Raptor fans will always have a love-hate obsession with Vince Carter. So yes; the chance to win any moral battle over VC is a kind of a big deal.
Terrence Ross Career High Performance: 51 pts (16-29 FG 10-17 3PMA, 55%) 9 reb, 1 stl, 1 ast in 44 minutes.
Blessed to score my career high tonight, too bad we didn't get the W. Thanks everyone for all of the support! #Raptors #NBA #Blessed
— Terrence Ross (@TFlight31) January 26, 2014
DeMar who? Vince Carter who? Terrence Ross @T_DotFlight31 do has taken flight at the Air Canada Centre! Career high 43 and counting. #RTZ
— Cabbie Richards (@Cabbie) January 26, 2014
There’s more than a few people who were hoping for Terrence Ross to wipe Carter from the record books, and it almost happened. This was truly a remarkable night for Terrence Ross. His performance, was nothing short of epic and could’ve only been sweetened by a victory. The pressure was on in the Air Canada Centre (in an inevitable loss), so I can’t even blame him for missing out on what could’ve been point number fifty-two. With a slew of 50+ point performances over these few weeks it’s hard to put Ross’ performance into perspective. However his accomplishments last night provide a rare opportunity to glimpse into the past, to compare and relish on the first time a Raptor cracked the half-century mark.
Vince Carter: 51 pts (17-32 FG 4-8 3PMA, 53%) 13-13 FT, 9 reb, 3 stl, 1 ast in 43 minutes.
Take into account that Vince’s 51 point game came on the Toronto Raptors NBC (USA National broadcast) debut, so say what you want about VC. At the end of the day, his play really did put the Toronto Raptors on the map. If you listen to the post-game interview, you can tell that was his focus.
Reaction to Terrence Ross’ 51 point Performance
Post Game: Terrence Ross
Post Game: Dwane Casey
Post Game: Kyle Lowry
Shoutout to the boy @T_DotFlight31. Five 1. I see u boy boy.
— Tone Wroten (@TWroten_LOE) January 26, 2014
As dem woulda seh bakka yaad about Terrence Ross tonight…."man ah shoot up di place….Lie-tah"…#patois
— Paul Jones (@Paul__Jones) January 26, 2014
^ Not sure if Paul Jones, or Toronto Mayor Rob Ford
Hey, who knows, one day maybe Terrence Ross or someone else will break Carter’s record erasing his name from Raptors history. Yet even if that did somehow happened Vince Carter could never (no matter how hard you try) be wiped from our hearts.
Vince “Half-Man Half-Amazing” Carter or Terrence “The Boss” Ross? Who had the more impressive performance? Let us know below in a comment. Follow us on Twitter @RaptorsCage or like and follow us on Facebook
