Raptors pull away late to defeat Timberwolves handily | Toronto Sun
For the better part of 40 minutes, they were right there with the Raptors. But when it came to winning time, it was boys against men as the Raptors pulled away for a 124-110 win.
Minnesota has not won in Toronto since 2004.
But it’s not as if the Raptors don’t have anything to learn, either.
Yes, they have figured out how to win games they should win, but there is a worry line in the forehead of head coach Dwane Casey that refuses to go away.
Casey commended his team on finding the level of commitment necessary in the fourth quarter to pull this one out, while at the same time pointing out that his team is playing with fire with their less-than-full attention to defence in the early goings of games.
“If we’re serious about going anywhere, doing anything special, our defence and our attention to detail, our passion for defence, our give-a-crap level for defence has to pick up,” the Raptors head coach said.
Left unsaid, but certainly insinuated, was that his team might be able to slack against a young and inexperienced team like Minnesota, but that approach would eventually come back and bite them in the behind against a team closer to their own level in the experience department.
Raptors use depth, experience to push aside Wiggins’ Timberwolves – Sportsnet.ca
The win improved the Raptors to 15-7 and was fuelled by another remarkable outing from Kyle Lowry (266394) – Raptors use depth, experience to push aside Wiggins’ Timberwolves (3144751)” data-an-category=”Player Tooltip Link” data-an-track-hover=”true”>Kyle Lowry, who needed just 14 shots to score 25 points while adding 11 assists, while DeMar DeRozan (457594) – Raptors use depth, experience to push aside Wiggins’ Timberwolves (3144751)” data-an-category=”Player Tooltip Link” data-an-track-hover=”true”>DeMar DeRozan overcame a slow start to chip in 27.
They looked every inch the poised veterans taking on the young kids at the gym and comfortably holding them off yet again.
The Raptors offence was typically overwhelming – the league’s second-rated attack is averaging 117 points a game over their past nine – but it was their fourth quarter defence that was the difference.
The Timberwolves shot 51.1 per cent for the game but just 39 per cent in the fourth quarter, where five turnovers led to nine Raptors points.
“We need to play connected in the fourth,” said Wiggins after the T-Wolves were outscored 36-21 down the stretch. “We need to play off each other, that’s what the Raptors do, they played off each other. They were on a string, extra passes, run you off the three.”
Court Squeaks: Raps experience shows against T-Wolves – Video – TSN
The Raptors managed to pull away from the Timberwolves in the fourth quarter, Matthew Scianitti and Josh Lewenberg explain why their experience showed against a much younger team.
Bad defense equals great fun, Raps beat Wolves 124-110 – Raptors HQ
“We finally woke up and played in the fourth quarter, but we can’t live like that and expect to do anything special,” said Casey. “We can be a good team, but we can’t be special if we allow things to happen like that tonight.”
It was the kind of game that keeps coaches and fans up all night – coaches because of the infuriating sloppiness, fans because of the endless vine loops they can’t look away from.
“Tonight was my fear, you look out there you don’t see LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers, the hype is not there,” said Casey. “But when I look out there I see talented young kids, a talented young team waiting to come in here in attack you. My nightmare came true.”
Because the Raptors cranked up the defense late, and because their offense continues to chug along at an absurd rate, Casey’s fear didn’t manifest itself in a loss. Nope, instead the Raptors capped off a 5-1 homestand, with DeMar DeRozan providing the emphatic, hysteria-inducing cherry.
Game Rap: Huskies 124, Wolves 110 | Toronto Raptors
PULLING AWAY LATE
The Raptors were unable to shake the wolves in the third, despite taking a nine-point lead a few minutes into the quarter. Minnesota led by a point going into the fourth, but Toronto found its footing offensively, outscoring Minnesota 36-21 to break the game open and pull away. The Raptors shot 55 percent in the final quarter, compared to 39 percent for the Wolves with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan scoring 19 of Toronto’s 36 in the fourth.
Raptors’ leaders step up against Timberwolves – Video – TSN
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combined for 52 points against the Timberwolves, the NBA on TSN panel recaps their game and also discuss the strong play from Jonas Valanciunas.
Raptors 124, Wolves 110: It Got Away Again – A Wolf Among Wolves
The Wolves bench gave 22 points, and actually shot the ball relatively well. Kris Dunn had one of his better halves in the first, but couldn’t do much in the second. The down point for Dunn came when gave up a four-point play to Kyle Lowry, after making the mistake of going under the screen. On paper, he appeared higher efficiency than Ricky Rubio, who was a -14, had 5 fouls, and only 3 assists. But tonight was another example of Rubio’s ability to keep the ball moving keeping him a factor in the game.
This wasn’t a case of the Wolves’ best players not playing well. Not offensively, anyway. This also wasn’t the case where those same players wouldn’t have some highlight plays.
Several, even.
If you only watched the Wolves offensively, you would have thought they would have won. But bad transition defense, bad half court defense…basically bad defense in general gave this game away for the Wolves. The now 15-7 Raptors have shown the ability to adjust to the strength to the team they’re playing. Better than most.
Tonight, they figured out how to score on the Wolves, and did it in bunches. The Wolves kept it a game, but they let it slip away, again.
Wolves fall to Raptors 124-110, Patience Must Persist – Canis Hoopus
But this season, the team is simply not ready to compete consistently at a high level. They show flashes of brilliance that foreshadow a promising future before falling apart at the seams shortly after. And it shouldn’t surprise many people — that will happen when a team’s top three players are barely old enough to legally buy a drink.
This was all on display Thursday night in Minnesota’s road loss to the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Huskies (er, Raptors). The Wolves blasted out of the gates strong and ended the first quarter on top by 10 points while keeping the dynamic backcourt duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan in check.
Then, of course, another defensive lapse that allowed Toronto to tie the game at halftime. The combination of a lack of focus, effort and competency at a consistent basis for 48 minutes has plagued the Wolves in a vast majority of their 22 games.
When it was all said and done, the Wolves had fulfilled the storyline that has pretty much summed up the season — the Wolves generated plenty of oooohs and ahhhhs from the crowd, but came away with a double-digit loss.
Timberwolves Wrap: Road loss to Raptors – Dunking With Wolves
The fourth quarter, however, might just be the new third quarter for the Wolves.
The teams traded baskets early in the quarter, but by the 7:00 mark, Toronto had taken a 102-96 lead. After a clutch three from Wiggins as the shot clock expired, the Raptors went on a 9-0 run to take control and never looked back.
The Wolves defense failed to extend beyond the three-point line late in the fourth quarter, and the offense largely stagnated to hero ball reliant on Wiggins, who tends to have tunnel vision late in games and not dish to open teammates.
Alas, the Raptors are simply the better team, and this game was simply a microcosm of the Wolves season to this point: a fantastic first quarter, a strong second quarter, and a poor second half against a more experienced team.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNxrrXJgDam/
Wolves continue ‘disconnected’ and ‘undisciplined’ play in loss to Toronto – StarTribune.com
Until that fourth quarter, the Wolves had built separate leads of nine, 10 and 12 points in the first half and played through their usually troublesome third quarter well enough to lead 89-88 entering the final quarter.
“We just have to hold onto those, man,” Wolves guard Zach LaVine said after he scored 29 points and Andrew Wiggins added 25 in his return to Toronto.
Afterward, Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau admired the connectedness of a Toronto team that’s 15-7 and would be best in the East were it not for a fellow named LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers. Meanwhile, center Karl-Anthony Towns talked about his team and its disconnect.
“The difference is they stay disciplined and continue to run their game plan, continue to execute,” Towns said. “For us, we get disconnected and get undisciplined.”
Coached by Thibodeau on last summer’s U.S. Olympic team, Lowry and DeRozan combined for 19 points in the fourth quarter. Lowry finished with 25 points and DeRozan had a 27-point night that he punctuated with a put-back dunk over Ricky Rubio in the game’s final minute.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNx_706AN64/
When Thibodeau talks, DeRozan listens – StarTribune.com
“They were terrific to be around,” Thibodeau said, “and they were a big part of that team winning the gold. What struck me was how hard they worked and their chemistry together. With our second unit, they lifted us throughout the entire Olympic experience. They made big plays. They made tough plays. They played to win. They were so unselfish on both sides of the ball.
“With Kyle running the team great, making hustle plays and DeMar flying up the floor, you could tell they knew how to read each other really, really well.”
DeRozan said he admired Thibodeau’s guidance, as well.
“It’s great when you have a head coach [as an assistant] like that,” DeRozan said. “He’s not going to let one single detail slide. You know that when you’re going against Thibs, you definitely have to bring your ‘A’ game.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNw2bFml0lZ/
Kyle Lowry ignites late surge as Raptors overcome Timberwolves | Toronto Star
It was is Toronto decided to just toy with kids, knowing they could eventually be put away.
“I think the same way we played the fourth quarter, we gotta do that for a full 48 (minutes),” said Joseph. “We’ve got to have high energy, we have to cover for each other, when somebody makes a mistake we have to be better at our rotations. We’ve got a lot to get better at, but the thing is, we’re capable of doing it. We show flashes of it. We just have to continue to grow.”
Andrew Wiggins had his best game at the Air Canada Centre by far, scoring 23 points for the Timberwolves despite getting into third-quarter foul trouble.
Karl-Anthony Towns lived up to his billing as a promising young big man with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Zach LaVine, the third of the three 21-year-old Timberwolves pups, had 29.
DeRozan made 12-of-13 free throws as part of a 27-point game to offset a tough shooting night and Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
“Tonight was my fear, you look out there and you don’t see LeBron James, Kyrie Irving or the Cleveland Cavaliers, the hype is not there,” Casey said.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNxxfBVgX5S/
Raptors can relate to Minnesota’s growing pains – Article – TSN
The Raptors were on their way to Staples Center, hours before a Sunday evening game against the Lakers on Dec. 8, 2013 when the news broke. Toronto had sent Gay to the Kings in exchange for four players, including Patrick Patterson, the team’s only holdover from that deal. It was believed to be the first step in a plan to tank for Wiggins, coincidently.
Instead, they came together in a way nobody could have predicted, including Masai Ujiri and the Raptors’ brass. Lowry took ownership over the team and blossomed into its heart and soul, DeRozan stepped out of Gay’s shadow to become a first-time all-star and, immediately after the trade was consummated, the fortunes of a long-suffering franchise turned. They were 7-12 before that night and 41-22 after it, en route to their first playoff berth in six years.
The lesson here, if there is a lesson at all, is not trade for Gay, trade him away and let the good times roll, although it couldn’t hurt for the Kings to give that a try. There’s no blueprint for building a winner, no magic elixir or get-rich-quick scheme – if there were everybody would be doing it. There are different ways to skin a cat, as Casey says – a somewhat horrifying figure of speech. Players develop at different rates and, as a result, so do teams.
While it may seem that way in hindsight, the Raptors improbable ascension to Conference Finalists didn’t happen overnight. Lowry was 27 at the time of the trade, in his eighth NBA season. He had bounced around the league and had been knocked down enough to know how to get back up, and – for the first time in his career – stay up. DeRozan was an old 24, if there is such a thing, coming off four losing seasons in Toronto. They paid their dues, learned from adversity and figured out how to walk, so that when the opportunity arose, they were ready to run.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNyJAV7lh8I/
Lowry joins Peterson in elite Raptors shooting club – Video – TSN
Kyle Lowry and the Raptors downed the Timberwolves to finish their six-game home stand with a 5-1 record. Matt Devlin and Jack Armstrong talk about Lowry joining Morris Peterson as the only players in franchise history with more than 700 three-pointers and breakdown the win.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNx29b8hVmH/
The Raptors’ Offense Is Otherworldly, But It May Not Matter – Fan Rag Sports
The Raptors’ offense may very well follow his lead, but it has actually improved through his regression. They’re currently posting 113.9 points per 100 possessions, only behind the freak of nature Golden State Warriors. That mark is not only second-best for this season, it’s the second-best mark by anyone in NBA history, ever.
What’s amazing by comparison to the benchmark that is the Warriors is that the offenses are completely different and are predicated on different things. While Golden State’s assist percentage is far and away leading the league at 72.6 percent, the Raptors only lead the Phoenix Suns, ranking 29th with 50.3 percent.
Casey has crafted out the perfect blend of inside/outside offense, with Jonas Valanciunas and DeRozan creating points at the rim while Terrence Ross, Norman Powell and Lowry combine to hit 43.4 percent from the perimeter on 12.9 attempts (and 5.6 makes) per game. The Raptors also have Cory Joseph, Patrick Patterson and DeMarre Carroll making above the league average from three, which spaces the floor for DeRozan and Valanciunas to go to work.
Golden State has 16 games with 30 assists or more, but no other team has more than four. The Raptors meanwhile are the NBA’s highest shooting team in isolation at 46.4 percent, and second in points per possession at 1.02 points per. The Warriors are first, of course, but their offense almost seems robotic at this point. Everything they try works.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNyKsyrgAtW/
Despite offensive brilliance, Raptors know success lies in improved defence – Sportsnet.ca
Part of the problem for the Raptors has been a difficulty guarding opponents beyond the arc. On average, Toronto gives up 30 points off three-pointers per game on about 28 attempts—the seventh-highest number faced by any team in the league. That’s up by about five three-point attempts from last season.
But that might be, at least in part, by design. To create a more robust interior defence, Casey has tried to get his players to pack as close to the zone as possible.
“Our philosophy is we’re zoning up to protect the paint and then getting out,” says Casey. “So the three-point line is open. Now we have to do a better job of getting out there.”
It’s something the Raptors will need to focus on if they want to topple the reigning kings of the East in Cleveland. In last season’s seven-game Eastern Conference Final, the Cavaliers hit 68 threes. (The Raptors hit 44, shooting .289 from beyond the arc.)
When the teams met on Monday night, the Cavaliers hit 14 threes, en route to a 116–112 win. To the Raptors’ credit, they hit 13 in the loss. Overall they’ve increased their attempts and percentage this season, but the Raptors’ offence isn’t built on shooting threes.
If Toronto hopes to reach the Conference final again—let alone beat the Cavs and have a shot at the Warriors—they’ll need to find ways to defend in the paint while challenging outside attempts more effectively. Because middling D won’t cut it if the Raptors want to join the league’s elite.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNyGvhjj2xg/
Vince Carter shot chart as a Raptor – GitHub
Compared to some other notable Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter was one of the most diverse players of the group.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNxXGDGDIZY/
Game preview: Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics | Toronto Star
Key matchup:DeMar DeRozan vs. Avery Bradley.
The Celtics guard is one of the toughest and best defenders in the league and will be out to shutdown one of the NBA’s most prolific scorers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNxPGDYDPAG/
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