Raptors pull off upset against Lakers | Toronto Sun
Turkoglu finished the day with just nine points, and while he clearly was relieved to have lived up to his Mr. Fourth Quarter reputation on this occasion, he wasn't ready to declare himself free and clear of the shooting problems that have plagued him.
"Hopefully this will help me get over the hump and play much better," Turkoglu said. "Usually I don't rely on that (getting to the line) because sometimes you get calls and sometimes you don't. I just tried to take the best shot I could."
With 1.2 seconds remaining, the Lakers had one more shot but a well-defended inbound pass to Kobe Bryant forced the best clutch shooter in the game to heave a 30-foot fall-away prayer that almost almost went in.
"He hits those shots," Antoine Wright said, the Raps primary defender on Bryant. "He almost made that one. It hit every part of the rim before it missed."
Jose Calderon required two stitches after taking a smack to the head late in the third quarter. He returned early in the fourth.
The Wright way to defend Kobe | Toronto Sun
Sunday, Wright was again in the spotlight knowing the ball was going to Kobe Bryant and knowing it was his job to somehow try to keep Bryant from making another game-winner. Wright had his strategy all laid out.
“For me, I was just thinking, don’t foul him, obviously. I don’t want to hold him and prohibit him from getting the ball. He’s going to catch the ball. That part of it I just have to live with … The fact that he fumbled it and caught it with his back to the basket and had to fade a little bit probably helped me out a lot more.”
So Kobe missed and Wright doesn’t have to worry about another commercial.
Feschuk: Raptors bringing swagger to court – thestar.com
"We take down the wild, wild West," bragged Amir Johnson, the Raptors forward. And in a month that has seen the Raptors beat legitimate playoff perennials like San Antonio and Dallas – not to mention the East's incumbent champs, the Orlando Magic – Johnson's boast sounded not the least bit hollow.
If you're a Raptors fan, you've got to savour moments like Sunday night; it was maybe as dramatic a win as the locals have pulled off since beating the 72-win Bulls at the SkyDome in 1996. And if you're an optimist, you can hope beating L.A. fuels a late-season surge en route to a playoff rally.
Has Hedo finally found his game? – The Globe and Mail
"It was a big win," said Jay Triano who has never wavered in the confidence he's shown Turkoglu despite marginal return. "[But] I hate to single it out as a great, great win and us hang our hats on that. There's a lot of basketball we still have to play and we want to use the momentum and keep moving forward."
Wherever the Raptors end up Turkoglu will have to be in important part of the equation. If he finds his game he has a chance to lift the Raptors above their middle-of-the-pack trajectory.
Raptors earn rare win over Lakers – The Globe and Mail
Trailing by a point with less than a minute to play everyone on the floor for Toronto touched it before it ended up in the hands of Turkoglu, the 6-foot-10 small forward brought here for the express purpose of making plays in tough situations.
Except Turkoglu didn’t seem to want it. He paused. He thought about it. He dribbled noncommittally to his right and into the corner before flinging the ball desperately back to Andrea Bargnani who was forced to take a rushed, off-balance three.
Turkoglu was shooting one-of-six on the night and just 40.1 per cent from the floor on the year.
Other than that, the Raptors were game. Sure, the Lakers are far too big and broad for the Raptors, with the likes of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom making the Raptors look like two-dimensional figures. That showed, as the Lakers had 31 rebounds to Toronto's 20 in the opening 24 minutes. Still, Toronto was able to go shot-for-shot for the most part with the world champions, trailing by just two points at the half, with the Lakers needing Bryant to drill three straight shots to keep their lead.
Every time Bryant touched the ball, the arena was electric.
"I like their fans," Lakers Phil Jackson said, before paying the Air Canada Centre a backhanded compliment. "But they've learned when to holler at the right time."
Pau Gasol pleads not guilty on final foul – Lakers blog : The Orange County Register
“I don’t think I pushed him at all,” Gasol said. “My arm was on his back, but I never pushed him.”
Turkoglu’s two free throws wound up winning the game for Toronto, which shot 26 free throws to the Lakers’ nine.
Raptors coach Jay Triano said it was a play Toronto often runs to spread the floor and give Turkoglu options to create. Triano said Turkoglu expected the Lakers to switch the play on the pick, offering the opportunity to drive against the Lakers’ big men. Turkoglu wound up surrounded by three Lakers and got the call from referee Bennett Salvatore, which doesn’t always happen in the final seconds of an NBA game.
Gasol had 22 points but didn’t shoot as well as usual: 10 for 23 from the field. He was only 2 for 2 from the foul line.
Blame Canada – Silver Screen and Roll
You can drive yourself insane analyzing a game like this. When two teams play 90+ possessions and finish a point apart, there's no end to the what-ifs. What if Kobe Bryant's fadeaway three at the buzzer had been two inches longer? What if the refs hadn't called a phantom foul on Pau Gasol with 1.2 seconds to play? What if the Lakers – with the ball, a four point lead and 1:30 left in the game – had milked the clock instead of pushing the ball imprudently and turning it over?
That way madness lies. In losing to the Toronto Raptors, 106 to 105, today, the Lakers fall to 1-2 on their road trip and behind Cleveland in the standings. In the process a couple memes have died, and if there's any justice in the world a third will join them.
Sports And The City: Toronto’s Lost Decade
It was all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows at the turn of the decade. An expansion team was growing up. Until Vince Carter turned out to be a rat. As you can see in the spreadsheet, it all fell apart rather gloriously once Carter's pouting began. The Rob Babcock years, culminated with the Carter trade, were the Raptors' darkest hours.
Carter's departure paved the road for Chris Bosh. I like to think that if Bosh does indeed stick around, and Andrea Bargnani continues to mature, the Raptors can put together a winning decade. Of course, Bosh's future remains the $130 million dollar question. If he leaves, this decade may be a long one.
Pau gets Dirk-like treatment from Bennett Salvatore – Lakers blog : The Orange County Register
Salvatore’s view was that Pau Gasol bumped Turkoglu on his drive — Gasol said he didn’t push him — and Salvatore’s view back in Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals was that Dirk Nowitzki bumped Dwyane Wade on his drive. Leading by a point, Dallas was on the brink of taking a 3-2 series lead with the next two games in Dallas before Salvatore’s call on Nowitzki set up two winning Wade free throws.
Miami then won Game 6 in Dallas to take the championship.
Gasol’s foul comes at about 1:30 on the timeline in the first video.
Free throws help Raptors nip Lakers | raptors, season, second – Sports – The Orange County Register
Lakers coach Phil Jackson wasn't happy about the finish, but he wasn't panicking either, saying: "We've been playing well."
"It was just the turnovers," Jackson said. "They (the Raptors) had 20 points off turnovers."
Lakers lack a finishing touch – bnd.com
Andrew Bynum, soaking his feet in a bucket of ice, recited Bryant's scoring line-a career-high 16 rebounds to go with nine assists and 27 points-as well as Gasol's 22 points and nine rebounds and his own nine-rebound, 21-point performance. It wasn't just the ice that chilled his mood.
"There's no way we should have lost this game," Bynum said. "We had the scoring. We just can't stop them."
Raptors Take a Bite out of Lake Show « An Epic Mess
The second play was that absolutely brain-fart foul he committed on Turkoglu in the final seconds of the game. The Lakers were clinging to a 1 point lead, and Hedo blew by Gasol toward the lane, where he was met with a slew of purple and gold jerseys ready to aid their Spanish teammate. Unfortunately, Gasol still felt the need to push Turkoglu in the back on a pass attempt, allowing him to clinch the game at the free throw line.
This wasted a fantastic game from Kobe, and an otherwise unsung performance by Israel’s Favorite Son, Jordan Farmar. Well, he’s not exactly from Israel, but he is of Jewish descent nonetheless. Farmar played very well tonight, overcoming some dubious foul calls by the officials not-named Bennett Salvatore. As I stated in my Rapid Reaction, Farmar made a great play on the ball against Chris Bosh, forcing a turnover that the Lakers then scored off.
Raptors 106 – Lakers 105: Do You Like Me Now? « Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog
It was Andrea Bargnani, who scored 12 of the Raptors 24 points in the fourth quarter, driving to the basket and finishing a reverse lay-up plus the foul with a minute 16 seconds left to bring the Raptors within one-point.
And it was Hedo Turkoglu, who Jay Triano trusted with the 11 seconds left in the game, driving to the hoop to be fouled at least twice as three Lakers converged to stop the lay-up attempt. And Turkoglu calmly drained both free throws to put the Raptors up by one with 1.2 seconds left.
And as Matt Devlin should have said, “How do you like me now!”
Dino Nation Blog: Raptors vs Lakers- Raptor Rewind V-Log Edition
Dino Blogger was far to excited to write about it so to the Video we go with a recap of what may have been one of the best games in Raptors history? It is in the top 5 for sure.
Game in Six Minutes – January 24, 2010
Check out the game between the Raptors and Lakers all in just six minutes!
Andrea Bargnani – January 24, 2010
Andrea Bargnani talks to the media following the Raptors vs. Lakers game on Sunday.
Marco Belinelli – Jan. 24, 2010
Marco Belinelli speaks with the Raptors NBA TV crew following the Raptors win over the Lakers.
Jay Triano speaks with the media following the Raptors' win over the Lakers.
Raptors Game Recap – The FAN 590 Toronto
THE FAN presents the highlights (clip #1 courtesy Paul Jones) and recap (#2 courtesy Eric Smith) of a thrilling 106-105 victory by the Raptors over the Lakers.
Kobe misses buzzer-beater as Raptors sink Lakers | Reuters
"They played some rabid, tenacious defense from about the middle of the third quarter on," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They did a good job of turning the ball over and getting run-outs from it."
The win was the 15th in 21 home games for the Raptors this season.
"We think that we're playing pretty well and we're confident," coach Jay Triano said.
"There were a couple of times today when we could have folded, we got down eight, nine points and we never did.
"Our guys just kept battling, we fought for more stops, we attacked the basket offensively, we weren't intimidated.
Raptors Report Week 13: Raptors Looking Serious, Take Down Lakers | Bleacher Report
Marco Belinelli has been stroking off of the bench, and the Raptors are finally showing some inside presence. The Raptors have stayed with the top teams in the NBA, and have beaten the No. 1 team in the league, the LA Lakers. Everyone is finally playing as a team and the Raps have finally found a formula for success.
All of which, if you hid the names, could have been said about the Raptors, or in the case of the rabid defence their opponents, on several occasions this season. But for one day, it went the other way. Which may even be indicative of something.
"We think that we're playing pretty well, and we're confident," said Raptors coach Jay Triano. "There were a couple times today when we could have folded; we got down eight, nine points. And we never did. We fought for more stops, and we attacked the basket offensively, and we weren't intimidated."
See, does any of that sound like the Raptors you have come to know and love and occasionally curse? No, it doesn't. This team spent the first quarter of the season exhibiting the competitive fire of Joey Graham, and playing some of the worst defence in the history of the NBA.
4th quarter: 1.2 seconds – With Walton inbounding, Gasol, Bryant, Brown and Farmar lined up on the free throw line. When the referees handed Walton the ball, Gasol rolled to the paint, Farmar cut to the right corner, Brown backed to the top of the key and Bryant went toward Walton 38 feet away from the basket. Walton's bounce pass went slightly out of Bryant's reach, but he got the ball and then pulled up for a fall-away three-pointer over Wright. The shot rimmed out, preventing what could have been Bryant's fifth game-winner of the season.
