 | Tyler Hansbrough, PF 24 MIN | 1-2 FG | 2-4 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | -2Basketball players are creatures of habit and they flourish when given a defined role that doesn’t change. For Hansbrough, that’s coming off the bench and playing with reckless abandon. Before the game Dwane Casey talked about his hesitation in changing that role and Hansbrough’s play tonight showed why. He lacked his normal physical style of play and finished with four points and five boards in 23 minutes. Another scary stat is he finished with a +/- of -2. |  |
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 27 MIN | 5-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 14 PTS | -7You have to give Patterson credit for playing within himself and not trying to force things. He scored 14 points on only six field goal attempts. Impressive. |  |
 | Terrence Ross, SF 24 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | -4There was a bit of a buzz tonight on twitter about James Johnson bumping Ross out of the starting five. Sorry, I’m not buying into that. Yes, Ross wasn’t able to find his groove shooting the ball (1-5 from the field) and Jeff Green went off for 20 points against him, but I’m chalking this up to a bad game against an underrated player in Green. Plus, Green needed 16 FGA’s to score those 20 points. |  |
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 36 MIN | 12-17 FG | 9-10 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 35 PTS | +4Lowry was a beast tonight. He had a tough time finding a groove in the first quarter due to being hounded by Rajon Rondo (taller player) and Marcus Smart (larger build), but he found his groove in the second quarter. He finished with a game-high 35 points and two big steals. |  |
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 40 MIN | 9-25 FG | 5-6 FT | 0 REB | 6 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 23 PTS | -1DeRozan got off to a slow starting going 1-5 from the field in the first quarter. You have to give him credit for being relentless as he kept attacking all night (25 field goal attempts) and still managed to score 23 points. He stuffed the stat sheet with six boards and two steals. | |
 | James Johnson, PF 22 MIN | 3-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | +10The idea was for Johnson to use his athleticism and size to give Jared Sullinger fits. Safe to say that didn’t work out as planned as Sullinger scorched Toronto for 19 points and 16 boards. To be fair, it’s tough for Johnson to battle Sullinger when he’s giving up 40 pounds. |  |
 | Chuck Hayes, C 12 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | +4Hayes only played 1:49 in the first half, but he managed a +/- of +8. So there’s that. He also played like a wrecking ball during his limited time on the court which was a lot of fun to watch. Poor Marcus Smart will be feeling the collision the two had for the next few days. | |
 | Greg Stiemsma, C 12 MIN | 2-2 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +1He came into the game and made an immediate impact on the defensive end of the floor for the Raptors. His modest stats won’t pop off the box score, but he was a big part of this win. | |
 | Greivis Vasquez, PG 20 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | +10Has Vasquez met a three-pointer he hasn’t fallen in love with? Last night he went 1-7 from beyond the arc against Oklahoma City and tonight he went 1-2 against Boston. His scoring is usually a great spark for the second unit, but tonight he went 3-8 from the field. He needs to find other ways to contribute when his shot’s not falling. | |
 | Louis Williams, SG 24 MIN | 5-10 FG | 1-1 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | 0Williams came into the game and gave Toronto an instant spark as the Raptors went on a 9-2 run to end the first quarter. Williams scored five of those points and he finished with 11 points. It’s also worth noting the buzzer beater he had to end the third quarter and give Toronto their first lead since it was 2-0. | |
 | Dwane Casey Do you give Casey blame for yet another slow start by his team? Or, do you give him credit for another hell-raising halftime speech to rally the troops? I’m going to give Casey credit for waking up a lethargic team. | |
Five Things We Saw
- Toronto allowed Boston to start the game shooting 12-14 from the field while getting a lot of easy looks in the paint. Meanwhile, Toronto seemed to be afraid to even venture into the paint – despite Boston lacking an intimidating rim protector – and shot 7-17 during that same stretch.
- Kyle Lowry willed Toronto to the win and his steal in the final minute of regulation lead to the DeRozan dunk. Everyone will rave over DeRozan’s dunk – and rightfully so, it was filthy – but it was Lowry’s steal that set the entire sequence in motion.
- Sorry, I’m not buying into the idea of James Johnson bumping Terrence Ross out of the starting five. Johnson gives the team a great spark off of the bench and Raptors need the three-point shooting – or at least the threat of it – that Ross provides.
- Patrick Patterson is a silent assassin. Or maybe a ninja. He quietly scored 14 points including a huge three late in the fourth quarter after Boston tied up the game. He went 4-6 from beyond the arc tonight.
- Marcus Smart needs to work on his jumper, but the kid has a lot of potential. He hit a huge three late in the fourth to tie the game at 105. He went 3-7 from beyond the arc and scored 12 points. He’s a bulldog on defence.
