DeMar DeRozan stayed in Toronto getting rest and treatment on his sprained left ankle suffered in the loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. The Raptors wanted to get back to winning ways, and what better way to do it than against a division opponent, Brookyn Nets, who've been playing fantastic basketball this month.
Let me set the scene: The Toronto Raptors were down 3 points, 103-100, to the Brooklyn Nets with 17.3 seconds to go in the 4th quarter. John Salmons made a lay up to cut the Nets' lead to one, and the Nets then took a time out. On the ensuing inbounds play, Patrick Patterson stole the ball and turned up the floor to try and create a scoring opportunity. He found Kyle Lowry driving towards the basket, Lowry kicked the ball back out to Patterson, who proceeded to pump fake to get a clean look at the basket – it found nothing but net, and put the Raptors up 104-103. With no timeouts remaining for the Nets, Paul Pierce tried to push the ball the length of the court, but his last second shot fell short, and the Raptors came away with scrappy road win.
Kyle Lowry was on a mission, and did everything he could to lead the team in this game, including being instrumental in the game winning play. It was another monster All-Star worthy performance from Kyle Lowry: 31 points (10-18 field goals, including 4-7 from 3 point land, and 7-8 from the free throw line), 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals.
Jonas Valanciunas was tenacious on both ends of the court, putting up 20 points and 13 rebounds. Patrick Patterson's game winning shot gave him 15 points on the night, and Greivis Vasquez added 12 points & 4 assists off the bench for Toronto.
The Raptors' starting lineup looked a bit different than usual, as Terrence Ross slid into the shooting guard position (coming off his career & franchise tying scoring night), and Steve Novak was given the opportunity to start at small forward. The 51 point record setting 2nd year swingman, Terrence Ross, who normally starts at small forward, started at shooting guard in DeMar DeRozan's absence, game, and had 10 points & 7 rebounds. Despite scoring that incredible 51 points on Saturday against the Clippers, Terrence is averaging 10 points per game this season, so his output in this game was on par with his usual production.
Paul Pierce was the Nets' answer to Kyle Lowry's performance, putting up 33 points (10-16 from the field, 7-10 from 3 point range, and 6-7 from the free throw line) and pulling down 6 boards. Andray Blatche was the Nets' next highest scorer, providing 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals from the bench. Joe Johnson had 12 points, Kevin Garnett had only 6 points in the game, but hauled down 11 rebounds, and Deron Williams just missed a double-double; scoring 9 points, while dishing out 11 assists.
Here's an interesting stat via Mike Greenberg of ESPN: The Brooklyn Nets are 10-0 against all opponents this month, except for the Toronto Raptors, whom they are 0-2 against.
This is a busy week for the Raptors, who have 3 more games this week. Up next, the Raptors return home to host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
Postgame Interviews:
Kyle Lowry
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
AsZpdaiiNiE[/youtube]
Patrick Patterson
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
u1ZWt8tp7vY[/youtube]
Dwane Casey
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
MtUyZ3JMeSQ[/youtube]
(Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images)
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