Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Morning Coffee – Thu, Nov 6

Casey proud but not satisfied | Raptors force Celtics to turn the game over | Ross MIA | Lowry breaks out of early slump | Ujiri keeps busy during games to avoid anxious stress

Kyle Lowry’s 35 leads Raptors over Celtics | Toronto Sun

Head coach Dwane Casey mixed and matched until he found something that worked, which ended up being a smaller lineup, featuring Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez in the backcourt. Once Terrence Ross re-entered, the starters also played much better than they had in the first. The Celtics shot just 9-for-24 in the frame, while the Raptors found their form. After yet another Lowry bucket and a Celtics miss, Lou Williams raced down the court and sank a buzzer-beater to end the third, giving Toronto its first lead since Patterson opened the scoring. It was Boston’s turn to fight back several times in the fourth. The Garden has not been kind to the Raptors and it looked like another horror show in the making early on. Toronto had only snapped an 11-game losing streak in Boston last March. Casey said the 4-1 record is nice, but there is considerable work to be done. “I’m proud, but we can’t be satisfied,” he said.

Kyle Lowry leads Raptors past Celtics | Toronto Star

The Raptors trailed by as many as 16 points but pulled away with some aggressive defence and clutch shooting down the stretch. Lowry was again a driving force for the Raptors, leading the team with 35 points. “The guys said (Tuesday) I wasn’t aggressive enough. And with us missing JV (Jonas Valanciunas) and Amir (Johnson), me and DeMar (DeRozan) had to be more aggressive tonight,” said Lowry. That aggression came at both ends of the court. Under pressure from the Raptors for the last three quarters, the Celtics coughed up 27 turnovers. One of the most impressive — and clutch — was a fourth-quarter steal by Lowry.

Lewenberg: Lowry carries shorthanded Raptors past Boston | TSN

“The play of the game was the steal [Lowry] had at the end,” Dwane Casey said. As the whistle blew – DeRozan would go to the line to cap off a three-point play – Lowry turned to face the Garden crowd, arms spread at waist level, and let out a roar. At the moment, he had that look in his eyes. He had that same look, or variations of it, from the second quarter on. Most of the NBA is familiar with it by now and it doesn’t usually bode well for whomever is on the other side. “He’s got that angry face,” said Patrick Patterson. “That’s what he always looks like.” There was no way Lowry was letting his team lose that game. “Yesterday they said I wasn’t aggressive enough and with us missing [Jonas Valanciunas] and [Amir Johnson] I had to be more aggressive tonight,” said Lowry after scoring 35 points – his highest as a Raptor – on just 17 shots in Toronto’s comeback 110-107 road win over the Boston Celtics Wednesday.

Recap: Kyle Lowry Beats the Boston Celtics in Raptors’ Comeback Victory | Raptors HQ

The Toronto Raptors appear to be slow starters. On the second night of a home-road back to back, the Raptors were given all they could handle by a tough Celtics team that has been competitive in every game in spite of its record. After last night’s porous defensive effort, Amir’s continued injury absence was a cause for concern heading into tonight’s game. Once news came that Jonas Valanciunas would be out as well, this had the look of a game the Raptors would struggle to win.

Game 4 Grades: Toronto Raptors 110, Boston Celtics 107 | CelticsHub

I’m going to continue to laud Brad Stevens in this space: I really liked his late-game substitutions tonight. For example: After Marcus Smart dribbled too long and was ripped by Kyle Lowry, Stevens yanked him for the offensive possession following the timeout. On the next defensive possession, Stevens sent him back in to redeem himself. That’s a quick way of letting Smart know he messed up without sapping his confidence, and it’s the kind of thoughtful coaching we’ve come to expect from Stevens. So. ANOTHER A+.

Sloppy play buries Celtics vs. Toronto | CelticsBlog

Look, the Celtics did a lot of things well tonight. They moved the ball, they hit the outside shot, you’ve got to feel great about Boston’s enormous 55-24 rebounding edge, Jared Sullinger was an absolute animal with 19 points and 16 boards, Kelly Olynyk came through with a big double-double of his own (18 points, 13 rebounds), Marcus Smart had another solid night (despite the late turnover) and Rajon Rondo racked up his 30th career triple-double. Man, does Rondo look good or what? However, you can’t turn the ball over 27 times and expect to win a ballgame against a good team. Hell, even against a weaker team. Hats off to the Raptors, who battled all night and showed why they are such a tough team to deal with. Persistence and execution is what separated them from the green in this one. Had the Cs just taken better care of the ball, we could be celebrating a victory right now, but these growing pains are part of what comes with a youth movement.

Quick Recap: DeRozan, Lowry come clutch in win over Celtics | Raptors Watch

The team experienced a bit of painful déjà vu on the defensive end early on. Much like the Thunder started 8 for 9 from the field on Tuesday, the Celtics made quick work of a lackluster Raps’ defense, jumping out to a 25-9 lead on 11/12 field goals. Sullinger in particular posted 8 points and 3 boards in the 1st quarter. A couple of and-1’s from Williams and Lowry contributed to an 8-0 run, but the improved ball movement did nothing to stop the bleeding; the defense allowed the deficit to increase to 12 by the end of the 1st Q. Boston commenced the second quarter by tackling the Raptors’ poor transition defense courtesy of an Avery Bradley three, and Rondo commanded the paint with several difficult layups. The team showed why they currently lead the league in fewest turnovers, but struggled to convert their jumpers, and the absence of the bigs attributed to a large discrepancy on the glass.

Celtics Notes: Kyle Lowry Puts On All-Star Show; Vitor Faverani Back In States | Boston Celtics | NESN.com

The Raptors were missing their starting frontcourt of Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas, and it showed early, as the Celtics made a living of attacking the rim against the likes of Tyler Hansbrough. Kyle Lowry was an animal for the Raptors, leading all scorers with 35 points and kick-starting Toronto’s comeback. Lowry also came up with the play of the game when he stripped Celtics point guard Marcus Smart to set up DeMar DeRozan’s game-winning dunk. “He’s just really good,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of the Raptors point guard. “I mean, he’s a bull. When he drives the ball, you can’t stop him from getting what he wants because he separates from his body. He scores the ball, he makes huge defensive plans like he did against Marcus late. I said before the game he probably should’ve been an All-Star last year, and it looks like he took that one seriously. Because he sure looked like one tonight.”

Green Street » 5 things we learned in Celtics’ loss to Raptors | WEEI

The Raptors fought their way back into the game during the second quarter by outscoring the Celtics 31-22, and most of the damage was done late. Toronto finished the quarter by scoring 20 points in the last six minutes of the half to go into the locker room down by just three points. The Raptors got a buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to finally take the lead, 88-86. Kyle Lowry did most of the damage in the middle quarters; he had 23 points in the second and third periods alone and 31 total heading into the fourth.

Post Game: Kyle Lowry pours in 35, Raptors down Celtics | Raptors Cage

he raptors allowed the Celtics to score 35 points on nearly 80%shooting after the first quarter. There was a point where the Celtics converted on 8 straight field goals with the Raptors failing to make a stop. Luckily the Raptors picked up their defensive efforts after being down 16. They made the Celtics turn the ball over 27 times leading to 36 points off those turnovers. James Johnson, Chuck Hayes and Kyle Lowry all made concentrated defensive efforts to get Toronto back in the game. If the Raptors plan to keep winning their gonna need a complete defensive effort for four quarters as they’re not good enough yet to just flip on the switch and get stops.

The Only Thing You Need To Know About the Celtics’ Loss to the Raptors – Celtics Blog | Boston.com

This setback was the third in a row for Boston. It likely stung more than any other defeat this season since the Celtics so obviously gave away the win with their miscues. Boston had 28 turnovers on the evening, including nine in the fourth quarter. The Raptors scored 36 points on those mistakes, including a go-ahead three-point play from DeMar DeRozan following a Marcus Smart turnover that broke a 105-105 tie with just 28.9 seconds remaining.

Kyle Lowry teaches rookie Marcus Smart a thing or two | The Boston Globe

Smart and Lowry have been facing off for about a month now, since the preseason when Smart admitted he gave Lowry too much respect during a loss in Toronto. So Smart has been itching to exact revenge, but Wednesday wasn’t the night. Lowry carried the Raptors with 35 points, including a fadeaway 18-footer with eight seconds left to give the Raptors a 3-point lead. Lowry, like Smart, is a muscular bowling ball who attacks the rim with vigor and finishes with a soft touch. Smart should attempt to emulate him. “Yeah, I definitely think he’s a guy he should look up to and learn from, but there’s a lot of guys in this league like that, and there’s only one Kyle Lowry,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “He’s a unique player. He’s different than Marcus in a lot of ways, but Marcus can certainly learn from him, as well as many others.” Lowry was an afterthought when he was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2006, traded to Houston to make room for Mike Conley. He was a victim of the Rockets’ salary cap binging and traded to Toronto in July 2012. He has turned himself into an All-Star-caliber player and understands Smart’s journey.

Lowry has 35 points, Raptors beat Celtics | ESPN

With big men Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas sidelined, Lowry took over for the Raptors in the second quarter and carried them from there. “He came out aggressive,” forward DeMar DeRozan said. “We need him to do that.” DeRozan had 23 points and Patrick Patterson added 14 for Toronto, but it was Lowry that Boston coach Brad Stevens praised. “I said before the game that he probably should have been an All-Star last year,” Stevens said. “It looks like he took that one seriously because he looked like one tonight.” It came after the Raptors fell behind by 16 points in the first quarter. “We can’t be that way,” coach Dwane Casey said. “It shouldn’t have to come from me to crack the whip at every turn to get us going.” Rajon Rondo led Boston with a triple-double of 13 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds. Jeff Green had 20 points for the Celtics, who have lost three straight after a season-opening win over Brooklyn.

THE POST GAME THREAD: Toronto Raptors 110 – Boston Celtics 107 /r/bostonceltics

Kyle Lowry and Evan Turner played really well for the Raptors tonight.

Taking in opening night with Masai Ujiri | Sportsnet.ca

And, most importantly, he fought the urge to tank away the 2013 season, and was rewarded with a surprise playoff appearance and unprecedented expectations in 2014. Even with all that success already in the rearview mirror, Ujiri can barely watch the Raptors play. Not because he’s indifferent—quite the opposite—Ujiri can’t stand to watch because he’s so emotionally invested. “I do random things during the game,” he admits. “I just can’t watch. Sometimes I go up in my office and work. Other times I’ll drive home in the middle of the game. “Everybody around here refers to Game 7 last year. I didn’t see most of it. The big comebacks and lead changes against Brooklyn. I didn’t see most of them. I’m not sure why. It’s hard to explain. I just do random things to get my mind off the game.”

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