Toronto finally came out relatively strong in the first quarter and put together one of their more complete games of the season with the 94-73 win at the New Jersey Nets. The Raptors finished 3-2 2 to end their 5-game road trip, their first winning 5+ game road trip since 2001. This was also their first win of the year without Andrea Bargnani in the lineup.
Dwane Casey inserted Jerryd Bayless into the starting lineup, which immediately paid dividends. Bayless disrupted Deron Williams early and the Raptors shot 55% in the quarter to end the first tied at 24. Bayless finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds. In his last 2 games, he has looked like he is recovered from the high ankle sprain that had limited him so far this year.
In the second, Toronto stayed active on defense, and used it to help fuel their offense. This despite not having their sixth man, Leandro Barbosa who sat out with a sprained left ankle. In the third, DeMar DeRozan took over the offense, getting to the line often, hitting jumpers and finishing on the break. He finished with a season-high 27 points on 8-12 shooting including 16 free throw attempts. The Raptors led by 17 after 3 and held on in the fourth for the 21-point win.
NOTES – Deron Williams finished with 24 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds for the Nets. Linas Kleiza added 15 points and Jose Calderon chipped in with 10 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds. Calderon and Bayless played well together, showing great chemistry, including a Calderon to Bayless alley-oop jam in the third.
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