No one said winning would be easy, even when you have 4th quarter statistics on your side. The Raptors were forced to hold off the Suns’ 4th quarter barrage to hold on for a 104-100 home win at the Air Canada Centre. This win marked their firth win in a row, their second five game winning streak in their 12 wins on the season.
The Raptors had to fight off the Suns in the 4th quarter, who refused to lose without a fight. Toronto led 81-66 heading into the 4th, but Phoenix stormed back; outscoring Toronto 34-23 in the quarter, with 21 of those points coming on seven made 3 point shots. The Suns, who are an excellent three point shooting team, shot 42% from behind the arc, made 14 of their 33 attempts from distance (half of their makes came in their high scoring 4th quarter). The Suns’ Eric Bledsoe & Isaiah Thomas scored a combined 26 points in the 4th quarter, including 5 of the Suns’ made 3 point shots.
In the end, the Suns couldn’t come all the way back, much to their displeasure, and to the excitement of the Raptors faithful in attendance and watching at home.
In consecutive games another Toronto Raptors player has post a career high in points. This time the milestone was achieved by Jonas Valanciunas, who scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Building from his efforts in the past week and a half, including separate games of 18 points & 12 rebounds, and 17 points & 14 rebounds.
Additionally, DeMar DeRozan is continuing his agressive & quality play as he scored 23 points, getting to the free throw line for 13 attempts on the night. Kyle Lowry hasn’t been shooting the best percentage from the field the last couple of games, but as always, he continues to make an impact everywhere else, diving for loose balls, setting up teammates, and hitting the glass. Lowry finished the night with 14 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds. He also collected 2 steals and a blocked shot as well. Lou Williams continued to show why he was honoured with the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award, pouring in 17 points off the bench, while picking up 2 steals and a blocked shot of his own. Terrence Ross had another solid game, scoring 13 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. He was also responsible for a clutch play by saving the ball from going out of bounds in the final moments of the game, which helped seal the win.
By The Numbers (courtesy of Paul Jones, Raptors Radio broadcaster):
- The Raptors are now 5-0 when Jonas Valanciunas has 10+ rebounds. They are 8-1 this season when Terrence Ross has 10+ points, and they are 7-0 when they have 20 or more assists as a team.
- The Raptors are now a perfect 4-0 in games when the score is plus or minus 3 points with less than 1 minute remaining. Only one other team in the NBA is currently undefeated in that scenario.
- The Raptors are now 10-0 this year when leading after 3 quarters, and have won 34 straight games when leading after 3. They have also won 26 straight games when leading at home after 3 quarters.
Postgame Reactions:
Jonas Valanciunas
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6wkOGLdJc0?list=UUYBFE432C2AmNRDGEXE4uVg]Chuck Hayes
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d9Uob1uH38?list=UUYBFE432C2AmNRDGEXE4uVg]Dwane Casey
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjB2FRFSRmw?list=UUYBFE432C2AmNRDGEXE4uVg]Photo Credit: Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images
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