Cousins absence was most apparent in the rebounding. Toronto normally plays this team and gets absolutely pounded on the boards in large part because Cousins cleans up. This time around those second and third-chance rebounds were for the most part going Toronto’s way, only still giving them a slight edge. The other huge difference in the game was the three-point shooting numbers. Toronto had 10, the Kings just three. The Raptors also had Kyle Lowry, who after a tough night in Los Angeles where he tried to win the game by himself and came up short, was not going to be denied on this night. Lowry played 37 minutes, poured in 27 points and had 13 assists. Oh, and he also had two steals and a block. Coming into the game he talked about staying aggressive and taking the shots that were there. In L.A. he took 28 shots, more than he has ever taken in a Raptors uniform in a single game. Tuesday in Sacramento he took 19 and scored on nine of them.
Scoring a season-high 19 points including the game-sealing basket with 18 seconds left, Johnson was a huge factor in Toronto’s 117-109 victory that snapped a tiny two-game Raptors losing streak. “I thought James finally got going after he had a few turnovers early. He got going and gave us a huge night … I thought he was the difference in the game,” said coach Dwane Casey. Johnson was shipped to Sacramento from Toronto for a rather inconsequential second-round draft pick in 2012, playing unspectacularly in 54 games for a dreadful team. It wasn’t fun for him, it wasn’t fun for the team’s fans and the memories are not fond on either side.
It’s a gig he’s more than capable of filling and thriving in but it’s been something of an adjustment, understandably so. Since inheriting the bulk of the offensive responsibility, along with DeRozan, following last year’s trade of Rudy Gay, Lowry has settled in as the quarterback, the straw that stirs the drink, the head of the snake. Now, with their leading scorer out, he’s tasked with being the head as well as most of its body. “I’m always going to be comfortable,” Lowry said after scoring a game-high 27 points and matching a season-best 13 assists in Toronto’s 117-109 victory over the Kings, snapping the team’s two-game losing streak and winning in Sacramento for the first time since December of 2008. “At the end of the day, I still gotta go out there and do my job,” he continued. “There might be a little bit more of a scoring load on me but I’mma go out there and play my game. Of course we miss DeMar and wish him to get back as soon as possible but until then I’ve gotta do a job.” As the game was on the line late in the fourth quarter, Lowry was relentless, darting to the rim with reckless abandon and carrying his team down the stretch, scoring 10 in the final frame.
Kyle Lowry has become even more crucial to the Raptors’ fortunes given the absence of All-Star DeMar DeRozan and on Tuesday he struck a perfect blend between distributor early and crunch time scorer late, including that clutch jumper mentioned above. He’d finish with a game-high 27 points, matched a season-high with 13 assists and added two steals plus a block in a strong bounce back effort two nights after scoring 29 points on a career-high 28 shots in a loss to the Lakers.
Missing DeMarcus Cousins, several reserves have been asked to step up in his place. Reggie Evans again recorded double-digit scoring and D-Will added a season-best performance, while Sessions chipped in a solid line of 15 points, six rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes of action. All in all, the bench contributed 58 of the team’s 109 points.
The starters set the wrong tone in the first and came out flat in the third when the Raptors scored 35 points. That forced Malone to turn to the bench because of the “unacceptable” effort.
Raptors Snap Losing Streak, Beat Kings 117-109 | Raptors HQ
Ross was ridiculous in the first quarter, and finished with 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including four three-pointers. He’s been shooting the ball really well on this road trip so far, something the team will need with DeMar DeRozan out indefinitely
CK Press Box Report: Raptors 117, Kings 109 | Cowbell Kingdom
The Kings stumbled out the gate shooting 1-for-8 en route to a 25-10 first quarter deficit. But they rediscovered their stroke to close the half down 57-55 shooting 58.8 percent. Sacramento maintained its torrid offensive pace for the rest of the night but but allowed Toronto to score almost at will, as they finished shooting 50 percent from the floor. Kyle Lowry dominated Sacramento’s backcourt with a 23-point, 13-assist, two-turnover night, and Terrence Ross scored a flashy 20 points. The Ex-Kings trio of James Johnson, Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson combined for 43 points.
Raptors 117, Kings 109: Raptors feast on the Kings | Sactown Royalty
Its becoming more and more apparent just what DeMarcus Cousins means to the Sacramento Kings. Not only is he the locus of the entire Kings’ offense, his defensive presence and rebounding ability has been a critical component of the Kings’ ability to beat good teams early in the season. In what has become a recurring theme, the Kings’ offense without Cousins was good enough to get a win, but the defense let the team down, digging a big enough hole and losing the battle of the boards to lose to the Toronto Raptors 117-109.
Kings Mulled By Raptors For Fourth Straight Loss | A Royal Pain
The Kings can only hope that Cousins is healthy enough to go on Friday, as the Kings look loss on offense and defense without their star big man. It would help the Kings a lot if Derrick Williams got more playing time. When it seemed like the Raptors were going to run away with the game, Williams stepped up and providing the Kings with some much needed energy, scoring 18 points off the bench.
Post Game Report: Toronto Raptors best the Kings in Cali | Raptors Cage
The only reason this isn’t an F is because the Kings shot 30% from downtown. Some of the buckets the Kings made were just way too easy. The Raptors need to be much better tomorrow if they’re going to beat the Utah Jazz on the second night of a back-to-back. Remember, these 109 points were scored without Boogie Cousins.
Dwane Casey’s conundrum | ESPN
“Everybody thought the world had gone to hell,” Casey said. “But…it didn’t. Guys stuck together, bonded. We developed confidence in the guys who had an opportunity to play.” For this story to have the same ending would require DeRozan to return and attain the level of play Nowitzki reached when he beat Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and LeBron James in the playoffs. That’s too much to ask. The flip side is that the Raptors don’t have to replace the irreplaceable. The Raptors are the second-highest scoring team in the NBA even though DeRozan isn’t among the top 19 individual scorers (he averages 19.4 points per game). And he accounts for the lowest percentage of his team’s points – 18 percent – out of the leading scorers on the five best teams in the league. Here’s how much of the point production the other top scorers among the teams with the five best records provide:
Databall – An analytical perspective on all things NBA: Scouting the DeRozan-less Raptors
Before we get to any number crunching, I did want to point out one play that happened at the end of regulation that exposes perhaps a flaw in how the NBA positions officials at the end of games. The score was tied at 109 and the Lakers had the ball for the last shot. Kobe drove to the hoop and was blocked on a great defensive play / possibly fouled (depending on which fan base you ask) from Jonas Valanciunas. James Johnson (the only NBA player in the shot clock era born in Wyoming) came down with the rebound and Kyle Lowry frantically called for a timeout (see picture below) with what appeared to be approximately 1.5 seconds remaining. The officials missed Lowry’s timeout call, the clock expired, and the game went into overtime, where the Raptors, as stated above, were not victorious.
Toronto Raptors: How to Win Without DeMar DeRozan | HoopStuff
It’s time for Jonas Valanciunas to step his game up. I’ve heard for years how good he could be and how this will be the season he actually fulfills the potential. Well with one of the best players on your team out for an undetermined period of time now is your chance to show the basketball world what you’ve got. He needs to be much more assertive on the offensive end, where he is attempting just 7.4 shots per game while shooting just over 56 percent, along with 3 made free throws a game, that is good for 11.8 points per contest. The ability is there for him to score more points once he becomes more aggressive. Once DeRozan does get back this growth would make Toronto all the more dangerous, with a confident Valanciunas looking for his shot down low and Lowry, DeRozan, Ross, Lou Williams and Patrick Patterson spacing the floor around the three point line.
Raptors will find out during DeRozan’s absence whether Terrence Ross is a player | Vancouver Sun
Ross has been something of an enigma. He has a great shooting stroke and unfathomable athletic ability but he has been somewhat limited on the offensive end. During the off-season Ross worked out with DeRozan to improve his game and he put on about fifteen pounds to build up his strength. Now, with DeRozan out, Ross is going to need to step into the role of consistent scorer. He won’t be relied upon to cover all of DeRozan’s twenty points but Ross needs to at least go from averaging ten points per game to becoming a fifteen points per game player. The Laker game was the first for the Raptors without DeRozan. As Casey said, “we have a number of offensive sets that are built around DeMar.” During the Laker game those sets went to Kyle Lowry, but Lowry is a little small to be hitting a number of fifteen foot jumpers surrounded by multiple defenders. The logical replacement on those plays is Ross. While the team has an overabundance of confidence it is the one major flaw in Terrence Ross. If he misses a couple of early shots he has the propensity to shy away, lose his aggressiveness and then lose his time on the court watching the remainder of the game from the bench. Ross showed in the Laker game he has an ability to create his own shot and to shoot with confidence—using floaters in the lane and pick and rolls to shoot from eighteen feet. He needs to continue to shoot, use his athleticism to take his defender off the dribble and attack the basket.
DeMar DeRozan’s Injury: Blessing in Disguise for Toronto Raptors? | Baller Mindframe
If Vasquez and Lowry can even come close to the numbers they put up together last season, the Raptors shouldn’t falter at all. With a solid Lou Williams off the bench, and some added help from Patrick Patterson, James Johnson, and Terrence Ross, it’ll be tough but the Raptors should be able to stay relevant. With two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the next eight days, the Raptors’ toughness will be tested. However, with a strong performance from Vasquez as the starting shooting guard, and continued improvement and success from Williams, the Raptors may continue to surprise some people, just like they’ve been doing all season.
Toronto Raptors at Utah Jazz: Gameday preview | Toronto Star
Utah has lost six in a row, four of them at home. . . . Gordon Hayward has been one bright light, with 30-plus points in four games already this season. . . . Raptors will be going for a season sweep after a 111-93 win last month at the Air Canada Centre. . . . All five Jazz starters average in double figures scoring. . . . It sounds like a familiar refrain for Raptors fans, the Jazz are lamenting the team’s habit of starting games slowly before coming on strong in the second half each night. They were down 22 to Denver on Monday before rallying only to lose by two.
Raptors-Jazz Preview | FOX Sports
The Jazz try to avoid a seventh consecutive loss and fourth in a row to the visiting Raptors on Wednesday night. Utah (5-13) has been limited to an average of 92.7 points during its skid after falling 103-101 to Denver on Monday. Gordon Hayward scored 25 points, Alec Burks added 22 and Enes Kanter posted 17 and 15 rebounds as the Jazz stormed back from 22 down to tie the game in the final minutes. “There’s a lot to learn from this game, a lot to take away,” Hayward said. “There are times where we play extremely well and then there are times where we play extremely terrible. So we have to find a way to play more consistently. We show so much fight when we get down, maybe we need to show some more fight to get ourselves up so we don’t have to constantly battle.”
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