Lowry, DeRozan spark Raptors past Blazers | Toronto Star
Kyle Lowry (30 points, eight assists, six rebounds), DeMar DeRozan (29 points) and the rest of the Raptors were ready to go up hills and through walls on Thursday night to bring this streak to an end and to start a new one.
The Raptors outlasted the Blazers 110-103, giving them their second win in a row and ending Portland’s five-game run. The Raptors have also won 13 of their last 14 games. At 34-16, the Raptors now have their most wins through 50 games in franchise history, beating last year’s team by a game.
Raptors end long losing streak in Portland | Toronto Sun
Against a surging Blazers squad that had won five straight, the Raptors blasted out of the gate with a season-high 37 points, then fought off a number of challenges before Kyle Lowry went supernova in the fourth quarter and ended up matching a career-high with seven three-pointers in a 30-point, eight assist, six rebound masterpiece.
Lowry and DeMar DeRozan (29 points, five rebounds and four assists) handily won the battle of two of the NBA’s most potent backcourts and Jonas Valanciunas had a big first half.
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey had said beforehand that it was a “travesty” that Damian Lillard did not make the all-star team, but Lillard had a horrid outing, shooting just 4-for-15 before hitting 4-of-5 during a futile comeback bid and got torched by Lowry.
Game Rap: Raptors 110, Trail Blazers 103 | Toronto Raptors
IT WAS OVER WHEN
Jonas Valanciunas drilled two free throws to put Toronto up seven with 33 seconds remaining. Despite turning the ball over on back-to-back possessions late, the Raptors were able to hold on for the 110-103 victory. The win was Toronto’s first in Portland since 2006, and moves Toronto to 34-16 on the season.
Raptors hold off Blazers 110-103 | Raptors HQ
The second half was tightly contested the whole way through. Every time the Raptors made a bit of run to open up the lead to double digits, the Blazers got timely shots from Allen Crabbe, CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard to get them right back in the game. Defensively, they put a ton of pressure on the Raptors right at the perimeter, and when faced with players attacking the paint, they clamped down with physicality and forced the Raptors into 10 turnovers in the half.
The three-point line was kind though, as the Raps shot 12-19 on the night. Kyle Lowry was especially good, hitting 7-10 threes on the night he was announced as a participant in the three-point contest on All Star Weekend. When the Blazers got within striking distance, Lowry was there to silence the crowd at the Moda Center with timely shots of his own. After some silliness at the end of the game (sloppy turnovers, hard fouls, etc.), the Raptors hung on to take this one 110-103.
Portland Trail Blazers’ Win Streak Extinct After Toronto Raptors’ 110-103 Victory | Blazer’s Edge
The Blazers withstood a scorching first quarter by the Raptors to go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the league going into the final quarter. But, the Raptors showcased both their defensive tenacity and their offensive firepower. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan led the way for the Raptors as they snap Portland’s five-game win streak with a 110-103 victory, book-ending Portland’s home stand with a couple of losses.
Portland fell behind by as much 16 points in the first half, before linking together a couple strong defensive quarters and pulling within three points early in the fourth. Meyers Leonard’s short jumper cut the Raptors lead to 84-81 with just under 10 minutes to play and the Blazers had two possessions to cut into lead, trailing by three points. But both ended with turnovers and Toronto responded with a 10-0 run led by eight straight points from Lowry.
Raptors Take Blazers to School, DeRozan and Lowry Dominate | Blazer’s Edge
If you just read the Game Flow section you’ll know that Toronto’s guards scored 42 of the 51 points their team put up in the second half. If that’s not enough for you, 98 of Toronto’s 110 points tonight came in the lane, beyond the three-point arc, or at the foul line. Considering those are the three places the Blazers least like to give up points, I’d say that this was either a fairly poor defensive job by the Blazers, a fairly surgical dismantling of Portland by the Raptors, or both.
(Hint: It was both.)
You could tell how far the Raptors were into the Blazers’ heads during end-of-quarter possessions. Portland’s pet play is shooting the ball with 30-33 seconds remaining on the clock, giving themselves an easy 2-for-1 situation. They’ve done it all year to great effect. Tonight the 35-second mark of each quarter might as well have been the oven dinging when the muffins are done. The Raptors knew where the ball was and they ran to get it, confident that whoever held the rock was going to shoot within 2-3 seconds. The Blazers didn’t get a meaningful final shot in any quarter this evening.
We see you @kyle_lowry7. Let it fly! #WeTheNorth
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Toronto Raptors end Trail Blazers winning streak | Raptors Cage
The Toronto Raptors will go as far as their All-Star backcourt can take them, and tonight was a classic case as to why that’s possible.
Lowry and DeMar DeRozan started off the game in full leadership mode for the Raptors, combining to score the team’s first 18 points to give them a 7-point lead. Lowry led all scorers with 30 points, 11 of those points coming in the fourth quarter to help the Raptors ice the game. DeRozan also scored 29 points, with 12 of them coming in the opening frame.
The Raptors were great at finding ways to get the rim against Portland, scoring 44 points in the paint. Jonas Valanciunas scored all his field goals in the paint, helping him record his 11th double double of the season with 14 points, and 11 rebounds to go along with 2 blocks.
Thursday by the numbers: Kobe Bryant and Kyle Lowry star | ESPN
30 — Kyle Lowry reached the 30-point mark for the fourth time this season as the Raptors topped the Trail Blazers. Lowry had five 30-point games all of last season. Thursday he made 7-of-10 3-pointers; he was 7-of-21 on 3s in his previous three games. The seven 3-pointers tied a career high.
Takeaways: Lowry on fire from three-point range | Sportsnet.ca
Despite the Blazers’ record this was a big road win in a hostile environment.
Portland had won their last five games and held opponents to just 94 points per game. Dwane Casey’s team came out aggressive, scoring 37 in the first quarter on its way to putting up 110.
Toronto is now 18-7 against teams under .500. It improves to 16-10 on the road.
Lowry joins three-point contest field for all-star weekend | Toronto Sun
The NBA announced Thursday that Lowry will compete at the three-point shootout against former Raptors star Chris Bosh, reigning MVP Stephen Curry, teammate Klay Thompson, league threes leader JJ Redick, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, Suns rookie Devin Booker and Houston’s James Harden.
Lowry, who will start again for the East in Sunday’s marquee contest, leads all Eastern Conference player in three-point makes and is shooting a career-best .388 from three-point range.
Lowry was having a little fun before the Raptors took on the Trail Blazers after the news came out.
“I gotta do something because Terrence (Ross) punked out and DeMar (DeRozan) punked out,” Lowry said of neither Raptors swingman taking part in the slam dunk contest.
Raptors’ Kyle Lowry to participate in all-star three-point contest | Toronto Star
Participating in his second all-star game in a row, Lowry is shooting a career-best 38.8 per cent from three-point range this season. He is fourth in the NBA in three-pointers made at 135, and fifth in attempts at 348.
Charles Barkley lauds Toronto as all-star game host city | Toronto Sun
“What happens when you have the all-star game there is you have a celebration of all the best players, the best talent,” said Smith. “So all of a sudden they get to be in a city for more than 24 hours and get to see the excitement.
“You saw it in Toronto last year when they were making a playoff run. There are a bunch of basketball fans in Canada that now have the opportunity to get seen.
“I don’t know if it has the impact of the Dream Team (U.S. Olympic basketball team) going overseas, but it has the Dream Team effect, where everyone is there and they see everything and you become more exited about it.”
Dinos & Digits: Frontcourt defense and Lowry’s near record | Raptors HQ
The Raptors have had a Defensive Rating of 109.2 in the 569 minutes that Jonas Valanciunas and Luis Scola have played together.
For the sake of context, the Los Angeles Lakers have the league’s worst overall Defensive Rating this season at 108.4.
The Raptors have a team mark for the year of 101.0 (making them the ninth-ranked defense in the league), despite the low rating of their starting frontcourt pairing. That’s largely because they’ve had a 99.8 mark in the 959 minutes that neither has been on the floor.
The team has also had an identical 109.2 Offensive Rating during the pairing’s 569 minutes, for a 0.0 Net Rating.
The NBA Guide To Winning | The Sports Quotient
On the offensive side of the ball it’s about the two dukes of Toronto: Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. These guys isolate, and it works. Toronto ranks third-to-last in the NBA in assists per 100 possessions, but sixth in net offensive rating, all because of the career years these two studs are having. Lowry does it all. He drives, he finishes, he passes and he shoots. DeRozan is a driving machine. He leads the league in drives per game and gets to the line 8.2 times per game, third most in the league.
The Raptors don’t move it like the Warriors or Spurs, and they don’t have a distributer as gifted as Westbrook The Creator. But they’ve found a unique way to win, and it stacks right up there with the best the league has to offer.
Top Trade Targets For The Toronto Raptors | A Few Good Mics
Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks): His name has been flown around into the trade winds recently, I think it’s because the Hawks are starting to figure out that, even though they can win games in the regular season, they can’t win a title with this core group. Pair that with the fact Horford is going to be a free agent this summer, the Hawks should most definitely be looking at what they could get back. As for how he’d fit into the Raptors, he’s always viewed himself as a power forward, which he would be in this lineup. He’s great in the mid-range area of the court, which would help immensely with JV, and he’s a great rebounder. This would be the package where the Raptors would have to give up the most, but that’s because Horford is only 29. I believe Horford would be the best trade target for the Raptors.
Potential Trade: Patrick Patterson, Lucas Nogeuira, NYK/DEN 2016 1st round pick, 2017 LAC 1st round pick for Al Horford and a future protected 2nd round pick.
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