“We did a great job in the first half of taking those threes out and in the second half they got going on them,” said Casey. “(It was) transition defence, over-helping unnecessarily in certain situations and once they saw it go in, that’s when they got hot. That’s part of the discipline we have to have on the defensive end.” And what would a dramatic game be without a little bit of controversy to spice it up. Twice in the overtime that dragged thanks to a handful of video reviews, contentious calls went against Toronto. First, they were denied a clear-path foul, which would have given them two free throws and the ball and then, seconds later, a Raptor common foul was upgraded to a clear path violation, sending the Blazers to the line for two shots before they kept possession.
This was one of the first real instances where you had the feeling a healthy DeRozan could have made the difference. Kyle Lowry who has been stellar throughout the season and even better since DeRozan went down looked for the very first time like fatigue got the better of him. Lowry hoisted up 26 shots making 10, and was the lone Raptor to play over 40 minutes. DeRozan would have taken some of that load. That’s not to say Lowry wasn’t good on the night. It was his defensive hustle along with Terrence Ross that helped turn the Blazers over in the dying seconds and got the Raptors that extra possession that forced overtime.
Toronto guard Terrence Ross, a Portland native and Jefferson High School graduate, made his third visit to Portland on Tuesday night, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds in 38 minutes. It was easily his best performance at the Moda Center; the 6-foot-7 shooting guard had recorded 10 points and four rebounds combined in his previous two Portland visits. Ross entered the game averaging 12.1 points and 3.5 rebounds and, according to Stotts, has improved and expanded his game exponentially this season, his third in the NBA. Stotts said he first noticed Ross’ development over the summer, during Tim Grgurich’s lauded basketball camp in Las Vegas, and it has carried over into the NBA season. “I thought he was the best player there,” Stotts said of the camp. “I really noticed how much he had improved there. He was playing with confidence, he was shooting the ball well. He came into the league primarily as a shooter, but he’s doing more off the dribble. His shot selection has improved. He’s learned and refined his game.”
The Raptors simply couldn’t match Portland’s fire power late in the game. The Blazers had their share of late-game mistakes but made enough plays to erase them from their memories.
Blazers are favorite to win NBA title — for now, at least | Portland Tribune
The Blazers led once — at 3-2 — until LaMarcus Aldridge buried a 20-footer for an 87-85 advantage with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter. But they found a way to prevail. “Seems to be our trademark,” said Portland guard Wesley Matthews, who scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds. “Down double digits, at home? We’re not going to go anywhere. “It was an ugly game for us offensively. But credit to the guys in this locker room, the belief we have in each other, to continue to play basketball.” Portland won despite shooting .400 from the field, including 12 for 36 from 3-point range. But that was a marked step up from a first half in which the Blazers shot .364 and made 2 of 17 attempts from beyond the arc. They sank 10 of 19 from long range after intermission, including consecutive 3’s by Damian Lillard, Matthews and Nicolas Batum for a 96-90 Portland lead in overtime.
Trail Mix: Blazers 102, Raptors 97 | Blazer Banter
The Blazers made huge plays and earned a win against one of the best teams in the league. The Raptors took the Blazers out of their game for three quarters. But Portland made huge plays down the stretch of the game. Wesley Matthews agreed that the fourth quarter where they held the Raptors to 17 points was their most important defensive quarter of the season. “It probably was,” he said. “It was a stand that we needed to make. It was a stand that we desperately needed to make. That was a big game. December 30, this was a huge game between two good teams.” Portland easily could have lost. After the game Joel Freeland, who probably played the most he ever has in a crunch time NBA situation, and Matthews were going over a play that they felt they left on the court. The Blazers know they could have lost this game and probably should have the way the Raptors beat them up for three quarters. They also know what they did to steal it from Toronto isn’t anything out of the ordinary. “They took it to us in the first half,” Matthews said. “They took it to us for 3 quarters. They were the aggressors and it’s hard to be the second aggressor and win the game. We were able to do that and our offense was ready to go.”
From the opening tip it was evident that the Blazers hadn’t switched out of Sixers-Knicks mode and into a serious mindset. Sloppy turnovers and lack of rebounding provided early clues, but you can also tell that the Blazers are taking an opponent lightly when they give up open shots in search of extra assists. If the first-quarter over-passing had gotten any bigger you could have walked a platoon of Boy Scouts and 6 circus elephants over the freeway and still left room for a jumbo jet to land. Multiple possessions passing up 2 decent shots for a rushed three-pointer left the scoring well dry. Meanwhile the Raptors probed the lane against Joel Freeland and company, either posting with Jonas Valanciunas or playing “step up-step back” with their guards. The Raptors jumped out to a 10-5 lead, only sacrificing it when their own jumpers stopped falling. The finish of the first saw the score knotted at 23. Before the second quarter was 3 minutes old, local law enforcement had issued an Amber Alert for Portland’s offense. A bevy of missed jumpers, awkward leaners, and ill-advised floaters twined together in sickly fashion, providing melody, harmony, and counterpoint to a spectacular 15-point period. Normally in these situations you’d point to the bench, but Portland’s starters weren’t carrying much of the offensive load either. The Raptors had the Blazers bagged up and sewn tight.
Trail Blazers hit gas late, beat Raptors 102-97 in overtime | Rip City Project
With everything copacetic, the Trail Blazers deficit was trimmed to five, then three, then one, and soon the Trail Blazers found themselves up two, with the ball, and 22 seconds left. All that was left was to hold the ball and take the foul, hit the free throws, and walk off the court winners. Unfortunately, Batum threw a questionable pass, a cross-court pukeball that Steve Blake was run out of bounds trying to grab. The Raptors scored, and Lillard’s lay in was blocked at the end of regulation. Overtime. With his lesson learned, Batum protected the ball and played conservatively… nah just kidding, he threw another crosscourt pass that was predictably picked off, and Trail Blazers fans were wondering if he had a turnover addiction he just couldn’t kick. Toronto had already hit a three, and things weren’t looking good. Then the Trail Blazers got a stop and Lillard hit a three of his own… then Matthews hit one, too… then Batum hit a coffin corner, early-in-the-shot-clock bomb that gave the Blazers nine straight points and a 6-point lead in an overtime where neither team had hit anything but a triple. After a flurry of official reviews, ranging from goaltending calls, to out-of-bounds calls, to clear path calls (one of which could have taken the Trail Blazers down after yet another terrible pass; the other which went against the Raptors and gave the Trail Blazers much-needed breathing room), they had a large enough lead to afford to crack even in the free-throw shooting battle. Portland walked away with the 102-97 victory.
Trail Blazers 102 Raptors 97 (OT) – SOFT | Portland Roundball Society
Anyway, the Blazer played a game. They sucked in the first half. They missed a TON of three point shots, which was half because, you know, fate, the whims of the universe, etc, etc. etc, and half because the Raptors were REALLY closing out. Hey, I know the East is terrible, and losing to their teams is NORMALLY a deep and disgusting shame that you bring not only onto yourself but also the glorious institution of the Western conference, but the Raptors are good! They were hustling and shit. It was good. They were good. They probably should have won. I was sort of disappointed they didn’t, because there close come from behind wins are just so exhausting. Oh my God, climb the mountain, no game is out of reach for these guys, blah blah blah. What if I WANT to check out at the end of a game? Huh? I have a beautiful daughter named Lavender. I wish to be a father to her, to listen to her speak about the spheres of the Earth, to share of my knowledge and to take from her, a youth with a transparent eye, a vision of her world that is no longer accessible to me. Like, if the Blazers would just get down 15 and start to give up, I could do that. But they just keep forcing me to glue my eyes to the television and away from my family, the only truly important thing. The Blazers are like drugs and simulacra and they are impurifying my mind and my soul night after night. I wish they would just lose or win comfortably so I could check out of this madness from time to time and experience a live in love and nature, which is the true purpose of being a human being.
Toronto Raptors drop overtime thriller to Trail Blazers | Raptors Cage
The Raptors did a solid job in the first half, and the 3rd quarter, but it all fell apart late, allowing solid looks on the perimeter, and losing the aggression on that end of the court. The Raps’ gave up 24 points in the 4th quarter, a quarter in which the Raptors are one of the best in the league defensively. They also forced Portland to shoot 40%, and forced a great outside shooting team to shoot 2-17 uncharacteristically in the first half. Too bad they weren’t able to keep it up. The last 12 minutes is where the team strives, tonight, the complete opposite.
Tough To Be Mad In The Most Hard Fought Game Yet – Raps vs Blazers | Mediocre No More
“PLAYOFF ATMOSPHERE, with PLAYOFF DEFENSE, in a PLAYOFF GAME” is something along the lines of what Matt Devlin said. While it may be repetitive, it was nonetheless true. Tough, tough loss, but honestly, you have to hold your head high and proud to be a Raptors fan. They left it all out on the floor, and had a multitude of chances to tie or put it away – including that oh so close jumper by Lowry for the near the left elbow off a beautiful spin in OT. That’s his money area.
F*ck those refs | /r/torontoraptors
“I bought a Raptors case for my iPhone, but I’m afraid I’ll get no calls if I put it on…”
Beat goes on with DeRozan for Raptors | Toronto Sun
It is not supposed to be this seamless. Taking an all-star and your leading scorer out of the lineup for a month and counting and barely missing a beat isn’t the norm. But the Raptors have managed it. The question is how? The overall offensive numbers show pretty much every Raptor improving in the month since DeRozan went down with his severe groin strain.
The Fourth-Annual Luke Walton All-Stars | Grantland
Toronto has unleashed Williams as a score-first chucker, pairing him with at least one point guard and happily watching as Williams nails audacious pull-up 3s and tricks defenders into heaps of shooting fouls. The prince of the Lou-for-12 is having the best season of his career, captaining bench mobs that are slaughtering opponents and fitting seamlessly into starter-heavy units — especially as the Raps cope without DeMar DeRozan.
I an haz yo linkz??! rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com
