Raptors cough up the lead in the third, but unlikely heros fend off Wall’s absurd night to secure the victory for the Atlantic Division leading Raptors
 | Amir Johnson, PF 25 MIN | 7-8 FG | 0-1 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 14 PTS | +22Brought the energy on both ends. Caught some great passes from Lowry and slammed home a couple of alley-oops. Had to sit because of foul trouble, but when he played, he was effective. |  | |||||||
 | Rudy Gay, SF 31 MIN | 6-16 FG | 5-6 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 4 BLK | 3 TO | 17 PTS | +2Gay had a really tough time dealing with double-teams from the Wizards, failing to make the right pass a lot of the time, or simply making them too late, and saw his minutes slashed as a result. Hit some key shots in the fourth quarter and clinched the win for the Raptors. Had a couple of blocks that made Jack squeal “get that garbage outta here” |  | |||||||
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 37 MIN | 5-14 FG | 1-2 FT | 13 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 11 PTS | -7Struggled mightily to defend Nene, but did a nice job on Gortat (who is slower). Got blocked a bunch in tonight’s game, including twice on one possession, but he was tenacious. Worked really hard and got rewarded with lots of looks. | | |||||||
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 36 MIN | 4-9 FG | 2-2 FT | 6 REB | 9 AST | 3 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 12 PTS | -2Amazing game from Lowry. Great passes, solid defense and money from deep. You really couldn’t ask for more. Don’t be fooled by Wall’s outburst; his defense was solid. the gameplan with Wall is always to force him to shoot jumpers, and Lowry did that. |  | |||||||
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 37 MIN | 7-14 FG | 3-4 FT | 6 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 17 PTS | -7Also faced double teams from the Wizards, and he was also slow to pass out of them. Hit his usual assortment of shots. Lost Beal on defense a whole bunch. Luckily Beal just missed on a few of them, especially in the second half. Demar needs to do a better job fighting through screens. |  | |||||||
 | Tyler Hansbrough, PF 19 MIN | 2-5 FG | 4-6 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | -7I’m coining a new nickname for Hansbrought: Tyler HAMsbrough, because he was going haaard tonight. He has no touch around the basket, but it doesn’t really matter when he can grab all of the rebounds. |  | |||||||
 | Steve Novak, SF 19 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | +15The Raptors really didn’t run a single play for him, which usually neutralizes Novak, but he hit a three right in Gortat’s eyes in the fourth which temporarily stopped the bleeding for Raptors. |  | |||||||
 | D.J. Augustin, PG 5 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PTS | +6Good lord. If you’re ever going to remember a 5-minute stint from DJ Augustin, remember this one. He sunk a corner three, created a nice dunk for JV and did a little improvising to get Ross an open three with the shot-clock expiring. Really kept the Raptors afloat early in the fourth. He might have just won his backup point guard job back. |  | |||||||
 | Julyan Stone, SG 6 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +4Not great. |  | |||||||
 | Terrence Ross, SG 25 MIN | 4-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | +14When Ross’s shot is falling, and he’s still managing to get to the rim for highlight finishes, I am a fan. Unfortunately when the shot isn’t, he’s just a springy player who’s out of position a whole bunch on defense. He seems to have jumped over Fields for the first wing off the bench. | | |||||||
 | Dwane Casey I don’t want to rag on Casey everytime I do a quick reaction, but he made some really questionable calls in this game, and none more bone-headed than going zone with Novak at the four. Wizards dominated on the glass in the third and grabbed 5 offensive rebounds on 3 possessions with Novak in the interior. And here’s the rub; if you’re going to go small with Novak as your four, at least run a play for him. Not a great night for Casey. |  | |||||||
Five Things We Saw
- When John Wall’s jumper is falling, he is a superstar point guard in this league. When it’s not, he’s just a whirling dervish that leaves you scampering to SportVU to check his maximum speed with the ball. His shot was falling and he single-handedly brought the Wizards back in this game.
- In a related note, after watching John Wall explode in the second half, 0% of Raptors fans who watched this game still have fingernails left.
- The Raptors’s offense fell apart in the third. They did such a nice job moving the ball in the first half (especially the first quarter), but the Wizards just doubled/trapped Gay and Demar whenever they got the ball. This blood-stained shot chart was the result.
- One more time for Kyle Lowry. His whole game was on display tonight. The nifty passes, the aggressive drives to the hoop, the three-pointer from the wing, the rebounding, the steals and the aggressive defense. Great game from Lowry.
- Gortat was 3/10 in this game with 6 points and 8 rebounds in 31 minutes played. They traded away their first round draft pick for him. Oh boy.
