SBNation.com User Blog: lover_lover

1st lost at home, Pacers 90, Raptors 88

lover_lover — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 08:27:13 -0000

Pacers 90, Raptors 88
Wednesday, October 31, 2012

7:00 PM ET - Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON

game highlights:

http://j.gs/1638240/indiana-toronto

Game stats in pdf:

http://j.gs/1638240/game-book-ind-tor

George Hill's Game Winner vs Raptors:

http://j.gs/1638240/game-winner

Jonas Valanciunas MONSTER SLAM:

http://j.gs/1638240/valanciunas-dunk-ind-tor

THE FACTS: Despite a number of new faces in the Toronto Raptors (0-1) line up, they still faced a similar result, losing to the (1-0) Indiana Pacers 90-88 at their home opener. George Hill's game winning 5-foot floater capped off a 16-4 fourth quarter run to end the game. Indiana outscored Toronto 27-17 in the final frame. The Pacers were led by David West's game-high 25 points, 14 of which came in the final quarter. Paul George added a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Roy Hibbert chipped in 14 points and 9 rebounds.

Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry had 21 points, eight assists and five seals in his debut. Andrea Bargnani scored 16 points and rookie center Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

With the score tied 88-88 and 22.1 left in the game, officials had to go to video review to determine who had possession from an out of bounds play. Indiana was awarded the ball and set up the final game winning possession. Bargnani's 16-foot shot fell short and the Pacers went on to win, without last season's leading scorer Danny Granger, who is out indefinitely with a sore knee.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors: Saturday @ Brooklyn, Sunday vs. Minnesota, Tuesday @ Oklahoma City. For the Pacers: Friday @ Charlotte, Saturday vs. Sacramento and Monday @ San Antonio.

Pacers 90, Raptors 88
Wednesday, October 31, 2012

7:00 PM ET - Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON

game highlights:

http://j.gs/1638240/indiana-toronto

Game stats in pdf:

http://j.gs/1638240/game-book-ind-tor

George Hill's Game Winner vs Raptors:

http://j.gs/1638240/game-winner

Jonas Valanciunas MONSTER SLAM:

http://j.gs/1638240/valanciunas-dunk-ind-tor

Wizards @ Raptors, October 17 2012

lover_lover — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 05:42:33 -0000

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

7:00 PM ET - Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON

Landry Fields scored 15 points, and Kyle Lowry had 14 points and six assists in his Raptors debut to help Toronto beat the Washington Wizards 104-101 in exhibition play Wednesday night.

Amir Johnson added 13 points, Jose Calderon had 12 points and eight assists, and DeMar DeRozan finished with 11 points for the Raptors (3-1).

Trevor Booker had 12 points to top the Wizards (1-4), while Emeka Okafor, Martell Webster, Jan Vesely and Bradley Beal had 11 apiece.

Lowry started after missing the first three games of the exhibition schedule - and a good chunk of Toronto's training camp in Halifax, Nova Scotia - because of a groin injury. The point guard scored Toronto's first points of the game off a steal and a drive in front of a crowd that included Jon Bon Jovi and former Raptors star Tracy Murray.

Toronto's Andrea Bargnani left the game with a left calf contusion in the third quarter.

Game highlights and video:
http://j.gs/1638240/wizardsraptors

Download Game Book, full stats and etc:
http://j.gs/1638240/wizards-raptors

When Landry Fields darted along the baseline to the basket, Kyle Lowry managed to find him.

Lowry played with hustle and poise in his Raptors debut and combined with Fields like they were longtime teammates on Wednesday in Toronto's 104-101 pre-season victory over the Washington Wizards.

``(Lowry) has sea legs right now and it affected his shot, but you can see he's a rolling pin going to the basket, he gets to where he wants to go with the ball, he's heady, he sees things that other people don't see, he got Landry going, cutting moving off the ball, which was huge,'' said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. ``Those things you can't teach. He's a true leader.''

Fields scored 15 points while Lowry had 14 of his own to go along with six assists.

Amir Johnson added 13 points, Jose Calderon had 12 points and eight assists, and DeMar DeRozan added 11 points for the Raptors (3-1).

Trevor Booker had 12 points to top the Wizards (1-4), while Emeka Okafor, Martell Webster, Jan Vesely and Bradley Beal had 11 apiece.

The Raptors trailed 77-73 heading into the fourth quarter of a game that had seen 15 lead changes.

Toronto managed to build a three-point lead with a minute left in the game and led by a point when Lowry drained two free throws with 13 seconds left to seal it.

Lowry started after missing the first three games of the exhibition schedule -- and a good chunk of Toronto's training camp in Halifax -- with a groin injury.

Casey had said that Lowry needed to shake off the rust. But the point guard scored the Raptors' first points off a steal and drive to the hoop, and didn't slow down, in front of a crowd of 11,750 that included Jon Bon Jovi and former Raptor Tracy Murray.

``It was great, I had fun, just trying to get my legs under me,'' Lowry said. ``I was a little bit winded, but it was great to get back out there.''

During a strong stretch in the third quarter, Lowry repeatedly found Fields cutting to the basket.

``I thought (Fields) did an excellent job, running the floor, back-cutting, moving without the ball,'' Casey said. ``Those things you can't teach, those are instinctive plays, we have them in but a lot of times guys freeze over there, get like a magnet on the three-point line, but he did a great job of cutting, moving without the ball.''

Fields said finally having Lowry on the floor was a big boost to the team.

``He's a fantastic player, he demands a lot out of his teammates, so when we're out there we want to give it our best,'' he said.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

7:00 PM ET - Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON

Game highlights and video:
http://j.gs/1638240/wizardsraptors

Download Game Book, full stats and etc:
http://j.gs/1638240/wizards-raptors

Toronto Raptors @ Detroit Pistons

lover_lover — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 08:37:28 -0000

Raptors lost in Detroit
Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The Raptors struggled on the glass and couldn't find their offence late against the Detroit Pistons in a 101-99 preseason road loss on Wednesday. DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points, John Lucas added 16 points off the bench and Jonas Valanciunas posted two points and two blocks in his NBA Debut.

Game highlights and video:
http://j.gs/1638240/toronto-detroit

Download Game Book, full stats and etc:
http://j.gs/1638240/toronto-detroit-game-book

It was a debut game for Jonas Valanciunas.

The Raptors rookie centre saw just over 13 minutes of work in his first appearance on Wednesday since suffering a calf strain and finished with two points and two blocks (I saw three) in a Raptors 101-99 loss to the Pistons.

Head coach Dwane Casey said Valanciunas did an “excellent job” given the context of his first game and competition in the form of a big Detroit frontline.

“He was where he was supposed to be a lot on his offensive sets and defensive situations and he opened up Andrea (Bargnani) on rolls,” Casey said post-game.

It wasn’t perfect. He didn’t grab a rebound on a night the Raptors were beaten badly on the boards and a turnover on a handoff attempt for a teammate come to mind. But the flashes of just how he could thrive in the NBA were also on display.

Both of Valanciunas’ blocks came against gifted offensive forward Greg Monroe and he maintained an aggressive approach while recording just the one foul. One of those swats also led to a major Raptors highlight as he sparked a fast break with a block, sprinted up court to command defensive attention in the lane and created room for DeMar DeRozan to attack and finish with a vicious dunk.

Raptors win against Real Madrid

lover_lover — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 06:09:20 -0000

Raptors stop Real Madrid, October 8, 2012

DeMar DeRozan scores 18 as Toronto beats Spain's Real Madrid 101-95 in its preseason opener.

Game highlights video:

http://j.gs/1638240/raptors-realmadrid

Download Game Book, full stats and etc:

http://j.gs/1638240/raptors-realmadrid-game-book

TORONTO (CP) - When Terrence Ross threw up an air ball on a three-point attempt in his first few minutes on the floor, it looked like a long night could be in store for the Toronto Raptors’ rookie.

But it was just a blip in an otherwise strong NBA debut Monday as Ross and the Raptors won their preseason opener, 102-95 over Spain’s Real Madrid.

“Other than that I felt comfortable, I wasn’t nervous or in a rush, I just calmed myself down, got myself together,” Ross said. “It wasn’t too bad.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points and John Lucas added 16 of his own for the Raptors, who ended the third quarter up by two before pulling away in the fourth.

Andrea Bargnani had 14 points, Amir Johnson added 12 points, scoring on several big dunks, Jose Calderon had eight assists to go with nine points, and Ed Davis grabbed 10 rebounds.

Ross, the Raptors’ No. 8 pick out of Washington, scored 10 points in 22 minutes, calmly knocking down a pair of threes.

Raptors coach Dwane Casey was pleased with the 21-year-old’s first NBA game.

“There was that one casual play where he thought he was in the park by himself, and [former NBA player Rudy] Fernandez came from behind and got him ... just little things like that,” Casey said. “But his upside is off the charts.”

Ross said the speed and intensity of the game is different from what he faced at the college level.

“Most of the guys are veterans, they’ve been playing this for a long time, so it’s a lot different from college kids to grown men,” he said. “You’ve got to be a second quicker [getting your shot off], you’ve always got to do something a little better, jump a little higher, get a little more arc.”

While it was only the pre-season, Ross said the moment he put on his jersey before the game wasn’t lost on him.

“Definitely, it gave me a sense of how much I’ve done to get to the point I’m at now,” he said.

Nikola Mirotic had 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the visitors, while Martynas Pocius added 15 points.

It was no surprise that the game, which came just two days after the Raptors finished their Halifax training camp, was a sloppy, dragged-out foul-filled affair for a Toronto team that featured 10 new faces.

Real Madrid, with four players from the Spanish team that won silver at the London Olympics, arrived game ready. The European powerhouse — winner of 30 Spanish League titles and eight Euroleague titles — is a few weeks ahead of the Raptors in terms of preparation.

“Up and downs, some good minutes, some not as good minutes. But I think it’s expected for the first game, after one week of practice, not even one week, it’s been six days,” said Calderon, who was also on the Spanish team at the London Games.

“Some good stuff we’ll see tomorrow in the video, some bad stuff we’re going to see tomorrow in the film.”

Real Madrid already won the Spanish SuperCup two weeks ago, and was coming off a 105-93 loss to the Grizzlies in Memphis two nights earlier.

“A team that moves the ball that crisply and screens so well and moves without the ball so well, that’s a hard night’s work and our guys did a decent job,” Casey said.

The crowd of 10,359 at Air Canada Centre was dotted with Madrid fans who periodically broke into Spanish songs.

The Raptors were missing newcomers Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas — Lowry’s debut has been put on hold because of a strained adductor muscle in his left leg, while Valanciunas is sidelined with a calf strain. Lowry is expected to miss all of Toronto’s games this week.

The game marked the ninth time the Raptors have played an international team in the preseason, having hosted teams from Greece, Italy, Israel, Lithuania and Russia in the past. The Raptors lost to Madrid in its 2007 pre-season trip to Europe.

Toronto opens the regular season Oct. 31 at home versus the Indiana Pacers.