(Photo: Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images)
The Toronto Raptors have now lost their 3rd straight game at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers by a final score of 93-83. The Raptors were leading 26-20 after the 1st quarter, but followed that up with possibly the worst quarter in Toronto Raptors history. Philadelphia tightened things defensively and shot lights out in the 2nd quarter, outscoring Toronto 32-7 in that span!
On this night the injury bug continued for the Raptors, as Alan Anderson suffered a sprained left ankle in the third quarter on a drive to the basket. He now joins Kyle Lowry (ankle) and Landry fields (hand/wrist) with injuries that will sideline these players for the foreseeable future. Kyle Lowry was ruled out of last night’s game after the afternoon shootaround, erring on the side of caution. Landry Fields will visit another specialist early this week for his hand/wrist injury to be re-evaluated.
On a positive note, the Toronto Raptors wore their special ‘Canadian Forces Collection’ jerseys in support of the Military Families Fund, on the eve of Remembrance Day in Canada, and Veterans Day in the United States.
The Toronto Raptors are now 1-5 on the season and other than their 105-86 home win vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 4th, key lapses during the games have either cost the the Raptors the win or have caused them to expend too much energy playing catch up for long stretches in the game.
Let’s review:
Oct 31: Indiana Pacers 90 – Toronto Raptors 88
Toronto lead 71- 63 after the 3rd quarter, but Indiana outscored Toronto 27-17 in the 4th quarter, resulting in the 2 point loss.
Nov 3: Toronto Raptors 100 – Brooklyn Nets 107
Toronto led by 8 points after the 1st quarter, but Brooklyn outscored Toronto 33-17 in the 2nd quarter.
Nov. 6: Toronto Raptors 88 – Oklahoma City Thunder 108
OKC outscored Toronto 30-17 in the 1st quarter, and held a 57 – 38 lead at halftime. OKC’s largest lead during the game was 29 points.
Nov. 7: Toronto Raptors 104 – Dallas Mavericks 109
Dallas outscored Toronto 36-24 in the 1st quarter. Dallas’ largest lead in the game was 16 points.
Nov. 10: Philadelphia 93 – Toronto Raptors 83
Toronto led by 6 points after the 1st quarter (and held a 10 point lead with 3 minutes remaining in the first), and, unbelievably, Philly outscored Toronto 32-7 in the 2nd quarter. Philly’s largest lead in the game was 20 points.
The Raptors’ next 3 games have them facing Utah (at home) on Monday, Indiana (on the road) on Tuesday, and Boston (on the road) on Saturday. These are certainly 3 tough opponents to face while trying to ‘right the ship’, but the Raptors MUST be up to the challenge in order to climb the ladder.
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