The Toronto Raptors were coming into this game after clinching the first seed in the East and Casey wants to close out the regular season out strong. DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas were the only players out for this game due to rest. The rest of the team would need to step up without their two starters. Norman Powell and Lucas Nogueira were inserted into the starting lineup. The Orlando Magic have been a disappointment all year long and are one of the teams that can not wait for this sesaon to be over. A good sign for the Magic was the return of Terrence Ross into the rotation who has been out with injury.
The game started off on a bad note for the Toronto Raptors. Norman Powell sprained his left ankle and headed towards the locker room. As soon as Norman came back after re-taping his ankle, Bebe left the game with left hamstring tightness. Before these injuries, the Raptors were playing well offensively but the Magic were able to penetrate and score inside the paint. A good sight to see was CJ Miles enter the game and not hesitating to take shots. DeMar DeRozan and the bench were up on their feet celebrating and supporting Miles after he knocked down his first couple shots. CJ has been in a slump lately and teammates all know that he needs to be in peak form for the Raptors to make any noise in the post-season. CJ closed off the quarter with a smooth three to give the Raptors the 35-24 lead after the first 12 minutes.
The second quarter began with CJ continuing his strong play. He was either fouled on his 3-point attempts or knocked them down. Fred VanVleet was creating easy shot attempts for his teammates, but suddenly left the game with lower back tightness and did not return. The Raptors were now undermanned and had to step it up. Norman did return from the ankle sprain and played well. However, Toronto continued to be careless with the basketball and racked up 17 turnovers in the game. The Raptors were able to drive and kick to wide open 3-point shots which they knocked down. Raptors go up 61-50 to end the first half with CJ Miles leading the team with 14 points off the bench. Siakam gets called for fouling Aaron Gordon attempting a three at the end of the first half which was clearly a bad call, but he did go 1/3 from the line so not that much damage there.
Toronto played a strong first half but there were tons of room for improvements. The Raptors hit 10 threes in the first half, but turnovers are becoming a habit. Orlando continued to fight, and Gordon hit a couple miraculous threes at the end of the shot clock and from deep to cut the Raptors’ lead down to 6. Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby were able to provide answers on the offensive end to push the lead back to 9. OG was hitting his shot from the outside and was aggressive attacking the rim. Both Serge and CJ were in a good rhythm offensively and extended the lead once again. The third quarter ended with the Raptors building back their double-digit lead with a score of 89-74.
Delon Wright along with Lowry had to take on a greater role in terms of play-making without the presence of both DeRozan and VanVleet, but they both stepped up to the challenge excellently. The rest of the team did their part and were able to efficiently knock down their shots. The fourth quarter was closed out by the Raptors using their aggressive defense and smooth ball movement. The Raptors went up by 20 mid-way into the fourth quarter before coasting to the easy win. Ex-Raptors Terrence Ross and Bismack Biyombo were given warm rounds of applause when they entered the game and the chemistry between the former teammates hasn't changed. Good win and flying out to Detroit for the second last game of the season.
Toronto Raptors Orlando Magic
112 101
Player of the Game
CJ Miles
24 minutes, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 0 turnovers, 6/13 shooting, 5/10 3PT, 5/6 FT, +22
CJ Miles was tied with Serge Ibaka for the highest total in terms of +/-. He was supremely confident for a player who has been shooting less than 25% from outside in the past few games. He had a solid game and changed the makeup of the game with his shooting. CJ’s shooting spaced the floor and were huge momentum shifts every time he knocked down a three. The Magic were clearly concerned with Miles’ shooting prowess as they fouled CJ Miles twice on 3-point attempts. CJ Miles had only scored 20 points in the last four games combined and went off for 22 points in this game. Great to see him get back his rhythm and hopefully he continues this kind of performance going into the post-season.
Things To Take Away From This Game
1. OG Anunoby
OG did have a career-high 21 points and was a contender for player of the game in this one, but Miles’ impact was much more significant. OG has played well recently and coming off his best defensive effort, he followed it up tonight with his best offensive effort. The 21 points came with great efficiency. OG went 7/10 from the field, 2/3 from the free throw line and 5/8 from the 3-point line. Solid night and was weird to see such a high volume of shooting from the rookie but with this team undermanned with injuries and players resting, he stepped it up and filled up the box score.
2. Dwane Casey
Casey has a slight dilemma of whether he is going to play his starters in the game against the Detroit Pistons tomorrow night in a back-to-back scenario or does he rest them. The Raptors had three injuries happen in this game and hopefully none of them are of a serious matter. But Lowry and Serge will most likely rest in the next game and DeMar and JV might have to play. A win in Detroit does not change the Raptors seeding or whoever they face in the playoffs, but it would extend the franchise regular season win record. Casey will have to decide whether rest is important or building on the momentum is significant.
3. Concern
The Raptors have been able to out-rebound their opponents recently and is a big reason why they have been able to close out games. However, this team has a couple concerns going forward. One is the turnovers and second is the shooting. Toronto turned the ball over 17 times compared to 10 by the Magic. These turnovers turn into fast break opportunities for the opponent and ruins the offensive flow. A turnover against playoff contenders like Cleveland will result in a fast break 3-ball and will become an avalanche of problems if not resolved quickly. The shooting in this game was excellent as the Raptors shot 50% from the field and 42% from the outside. The 71% at the line will need to be better, but otherwise a solid game. But the 3-point shooting, more importantly, has been sporadic and Toronto will need to consistently maintain at least a 37-38% from the outside to space the floor and keep defenders honest. It will be interesting to see how the Raptors finish off this historic season.
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