Toronto came up short on Friday night, losing 92-87 on the road to the Orlando Magic. The Raptors were forced to expend a lot of energy early to get back into the game, having scored just 15 points after the first quarter (on just 3 of 17 shooting!); but only trailed the Magic by six points heading into the 2nd quarter. Coach Casey said post-game that the Raptors need to have better starts to their games. The Raptors picked up the pace in the 2nd quarter but still found themselves trailing 45-36 at half.
Toronto re-grouped at half and came out flying in the third quarter, scoring 33 points as a team, and held Orlando to 19 in the quarter. Jonas Valanciunas was in foul trouble early in the game, picking up three fouls in the first half, but he also came back with a vengeance to start the second half, setting a new single quarter Raptors team record by grabbing 11 rebounds himself in the third quarter.
The final Raptors possession of the game has come under some scrutiny, but DeMar DeRozan indicated that the ball was hit away from him late causing him to lose control of it which took away the shot he was looking for. At that point the Raptors were trailing the Magic 88-87. The Raptors were scrambling, and with 11.9 seconds left Jonas Valanciunas ended up with the ball in the post, late in the possession, trying to get the go-ahead basket. JV’s hook shot didn’t fall, the Magic’s Victor Oladipo ended up with the rebound, forcing Cory Joseph to foul intentionally which led to a ‘clear path’ foul being called and ultimately gave the Magic the win.
Cory Joseph scored one off of his career high, scoring 19 points, which marks his season high in scoring. DeMar DeRozan continued to attack the rim, which has become something we’ve come to expect from him, allowing him to get to the free throw line 12 times. He made nine of those free throws, helping him earn 23 points on the night. Kyle Lowry was the only other Raptor to score double digits in the game, ending the night with 17 points.
For the Orlando Magic, Tobias Harris was active on both ends of the floor, leading the Magic with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Additionally the Magic ended the game with 5 players in double digit scoring, compared to The Raptors who had 3 (as mentioned previously). The Magic were without the services of their center Nikola Vucevic who was recently diagnosed with a right knee bone bruise, after banging knees with the Houston Rockets’ Dwight Howard on Wednesday night.
Up next for the Raptors are the Miami Heat, as they will battle against Dwyane Wade and the former face of the Raptors, Chris Bosh, on Sunday November 8th. Tip Off, 6pm ET. (Canadian telecast: Sportsnet One)
Dwane Casey:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6IfrQ7OIQQ]DeMar DeRozan:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNsR2rAa_Qw]Cory Joseph:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7POPyE0X4PU]Kyle Lowry:
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