Siakam is back; Raptors comeback to beat the Suns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg6m4iVm59s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ylYw4TvZqs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOMKYar8RlE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlUKv7IREgM
10 things: Pascal Siakam returns to dominant ways in comeback win vs. Suns – Yahoo!
Six — Heroic: Having lost the last two games with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson starting at center, Nick Nurse decided to go even smaller with Pat McCaw in the starting five. This failed miserably to start, as the Raptors found themselves constantly scrambling between swarming the paint and recovering to the perimeter, and the end result was that they guarded neither. What really stabilized the game was when Chris Boucher subbed into the game. Boucher was the last rotation player to see the floor, but his impact was undeniable. Boucher collected five offensive rebounds in his first shift, and earned the right to start in the second half.
Chris Boucher answers Nick Nurse’s pregame call and lifts Raptors – The Athletic
Despite Boucher’s strong performance, Nurse subbed him out a few minutes into the fourth quarter to return to the original starting lineup. The Suns were playing Deandre Ayton and Dario Saric together and Nurse wanted to force Phoenix’s hand with one of those two defending Siakam. That had been a prudent point of attack all night, with Siakam doing many of the things he’d said he hoped to improve two nights earlier. With Boucher on the floor, the Suns could station one of their bigs on him, balancing their defence a little better without a significant threat of Boucher — roughly a 30 percent 3-point shooter across NBA, G League and preseason samples — spacing them out.
With 2:50 to play and the Raptors ahead by five after trailing by as many as 17, Anunoby fouled out on a play that saw Ayton leave the game due to injury. Now, Nurse had fewer options and the Suns were forced to play a lineup better suited to Boucher’s game. He was getting the rare chance to see if a strong bench performance could carry over into crunch time.
It’s not an easy situation to come into, especially as an energy player. The push-pull between trying to play a narrow role while also asserting your force on the game takes time to master. Boucher has at times been overzealous and, to Nurse’s criticism, too passive. That’s even tougher in a tight, late-game situation where the leverage is highest and any mistake — of commission or omission — could swing a game.
Boucher immediately missed a 3. On the next possession, Kyle Lowry found him again. If there’s one thing you can say about Boucher over the entirety of his career to date, it’s that whatever ebbs and flows he’s experiencing, it’s never for a lack of confidence.
“I think it’s a blessing and a curse for me, just the fact that I’m able to snap out and just shoot the next one,” he said. “It could go good or bad. But the one thing I know is that I’m really confident in it. You know, today it helped me out. Somebody else after missing one probably wouldn’t shoot it. I shot the second one like it was the first one. I believe in it.”
Boucher drained the 3, extending the Raptors’ lead.
Raptors’ Chris Boucher rises to occasion in win over Suns – Sportsnet.ca
Boucher was a live wire all night and, fittingly, broke up a tie game with two minutes left and hit a pair of free throws with just over a minute remaining that put the Raptors up for good. With the victory, Toronto improved to 43-18 and 1-1 on its five-game road trip.
Not only did the win halt the Raptors’ losing streak before their first game against the Golden State Warriors since the Finals — coming up Thursday — but a loss by the Boston Celtics helped the Raptors stay 1 1/2 games ahead for second place in the Eastern Conference.
Certainly, the healthy Raptors stars did their part in Tuesday’s win.
Pascal Siakam bounced back in a big way from a frustrating outing against the Denver Nuggets to start the road trip. He played one of his most complete games of the season, finishing with 33 points on 20 shots. Lowry was brilliant with 28 points and six assists, while Norman Powell continued his instant-offence routine en route to 26 points on 15 shots.
But they needed help. Boucher provided his share and OG Anunoby mixed in a hard-nosed performance, wrestling with Suns centre Deandre Ayton most of night and limiting him to 13 points (well below his 19 points per game average) while still having the legs to chip in 11 points and nine rebounds of his own before fouling out late.
Nurse was practically begging for someone outside of the core players to come up with a big game, to spark the team.
Over the course of two unimpressive losses to the Charlotte Hornets and Nuggets, that was missing.
“Listen, let’s not sugar coat it, those guys haven’t played worth a darn, that whole crew on this last three or four games,” Nurse said before the game. “If we’re going to sing their praises for game after game after game, (we need to say) when they’re not playing well and they haven’t.”
Recap: Toronto Raptors end skid with 123-114 comeback win over the Phoenix Suns – Raptors HQ
The margin was still just a single point when the fourth began, with the Raptors up 87-86. The Raptors opened the final quarter with a lineup that featured neither Lowry nor Siakam, their scoring leaders on the night. Norman Powell, who’d end up finishing with 26 points, including 12 in the fourth, did an adequate job of shepherding an otherwise punchless offense by slicing to the rim. However, on possessions where Powell didn’t get the ball, the Raptors not only failed to score, they created run-out opportunities for the Suns, leading to open threes and layups a plenty. By the time Lowry re-entered, following a time out, the Raptors’ slim lead had turned into a 6 point deficit.
The Raptors made that margin back almost immediately after the time out, as Norman Powell and OG Anunoby drilled a pair of threes to equalize things. Lowry then took the reigns to slowly separate the Raptors from the Suns, drawing tough fouls and hitting tougher step-back threes. Lowry had his best scoring performance in a while, ending with 28 points on 8-of-19 shooting. He wasn’t the Raptors’ leading scorer though, as Pascal Siakam notched a steady 33, rebounding after a stretch of tough games where his touch at the basket looked off.
Then, the Raptors momentum seemed to break for a split second, as OG Anunoby, who turned in another excellent defensive performance guarding up a position or two, fouled out. However, the Raptors replaced Anunoby with the player who initially swung the game’s momentum in Chris Boucher, and Boucher answered the call, promptly drilling a crucial three to re-establish the Raptors’ control over the game. Boucher would finish 19 points and 16 rebounds, a standout performance just as critical as Lowry’s, Siakam’s or Powell’s.
So, the Raptors’ short losing skid comes to a halt. They’ve still got three games remaining in their west coast road trip, starting with a matchup on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors that could see the return of Stephen Curry from his months long injury. Still, with a win under their belt, and with, possibly, some guys starting to make their ways back from injuries, you have to hope they can carry this momentum forwards.
Recap: Suns fumble away 17-point lead, lose to Raptors, 123-114 – Bright Side Of The Sun
Following one of the most embarrassing weekends for the Suns, which put the proverbial nail in the coffin of their slim playoff hopes, how were they going to respond?
Going against the defending champions, the energy was up to start this one off. Phoenix actually raced out to a double-digit lead in the second quarter before Toronto clawed back to make it 68-61 at halftime.
In the second half, Toronto flipped the switch. Not only did they take the lead, but their stars started to catch fire offensively. We had ourselves a game once business picked up on both ends of the floor.
Somehow, someway, the Suns blew a 17-point lead losing this one 123-114. Honestly, this shouldn’t come as a surprise as it’s been the consistent them of the 2019-20 campaign. Even though it’s against the defending champion Raptors, this falls into another bad loss under the circumstances.
Deandre Ayton injured as Phoenix Suns fall to undermanned Toronto Raptors – AZ Central
Phoenix played harder and with more effort than it showed in Saturday’s bad loss to Golden State, but Toronto overcame all that in an 123-114 victory Tuesday night before 15,553 fans at Talking Stick Resort Arena
With a number of Canadians staying in Phoenix for the winter, the Raptors had large fan base cheering for them and the had plenty of reasons to roar.
Pascal Siakam scored a game-high 33 points while Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell scored 28 and 26, respectively. The Raptors (43-18) also received a 19-point effort from Chris Boucher that included a game-high 14 rebounds in snapping a three-game skid..
Devin Booker scored 22 points and had 10 assists while rookie Cam Johnson scored 21 off the bench, going 5-of-13 from 3.
Ricky Rubio had a double-double of 16 points and 10 assists as did Deandre Ayton, who went for 13 and 14 rebounds for the Suns (24-38), who have now lost four straight, all in his six-game homestand..
Ayton left the game with an injured left ankle with 2:50 left in the fourth quafter he and OG Anunoby scrambled for loose ball. Monty Williams said x-rays were given to Ayton, who gave impression that it was fine.
Siakam busts out of slump in Phoenix | Toronto Sun
“It is frustrating, but at the same time, you trust your work. Like, you know, I’m going to continue to do me, I’m going to continue to play hard, and like I said, I got to be better, mentally. It’s gotta be on me. It’s gotta be on me. There’s nobody else. Nobody else is gonna help me,” Siakam said.
Head coach Nick Nurse thought Siakam had been out of rhythm and not getting to his “For sure. I think all of ’em (help Siakam get better shots),” Nurse had said.
Lowry’s solution was to plan to try to get Siakam the ball more in the middle of the floor “and not as much on the sides. I think that’s one thing that will help us. It will give us the space he can see the floor more from the middle,” Lowry said.
“But other than that’s he’s fine,” said the all-star point guard.
Lowry seemed smart when Siakam turned in an outstanding first two quarters on Tuesday, scoring 16 points. Siakam scored at will with a variety of spins and drop-steps and also hit a couple of three-pointers early on. He just kept on rolling and was easily the best player on the court.
“Pascal walked the walk today,” said Lowry, who had 28 points. Norman Powell had 26 and Chris Boucher 19 off the bench. Devin Booker led Phoenix with 21 points.
Resurgent OG Anunoby a key ingredient in Raptors’ recipe for success | The Star
OG Anunoby, often the forgotten man of the Raptors’ starting five, is about to face the toughest, most important stretch of his basketball career. How he handles it will likely determine how far the team progresses.
“Everything is encouraging with OG, and as long as he continues to grow and keep getting better, we’ll get better,” Lowry said.
Easy to say, difficult to do. But maybe the difference in the team’s ultimate success.
Anunoby is going to be the most important defender the Raptors have once the post-season begins, more important even than Gasol, who is the conductor along the back line and an immovable rim protector. But Anunoby is going to have to be up and guarding the very best perimeter player on whichever team the Raptors face in the post-season.
“I would think so,” coach Nick Nurse said. “Unless there’s just some type of matchup that doesn’t (work at all) he goes probably two through four; he’s going to get a key guy on the wing up to the five spot.”
Just think who that might be: Jimmy Butler, Khris Middleton, maybe Aaron Gordon, perhaps some time on Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum, Ben Simmons.
That’s a litany of Eastern Conference talent awaiting the third-year Raptors forward, who has less big-game experience than any Toronto starter.
And with the premium attached to playoff defence — any Raptors fan who recalls last year’s run to the NBA championship can’t dispute its importance — Anunoby becomes far more important after the regular season ends than during it.
Toronto Raptors: 3 Raptors players who need big final stretch – Hoops Habit
1. Marc Gasol
How much of the final month of the season Marc Gasol even plays is an open question. The big man is currently not on the court, still nursing a left hamstring injury he suffered near the end of January. No timetable has been put on his return, although he was able to put in a workout before the Nuggets game.Gasol’s first full season in Toronto wasn’t going particularly well, even before the injury. He turned 35 years old right after his injury, so perhaps the effects of age are finally showing on the Spaniard. He’s averaging a career-low 7.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, close to the bottom of his career. His saving grace is his ability to hit shots from deep, knocking down 40.3 percent of his threes.
Due to various injuries, Toronto’s lineup against the Nuggets featured no true centers and just one true power forward, Siakam. It’s a model the Houston Rockets are living and dying with this season and one Toronto can try to emulate if they feel the need to by the time the postseason comes around.
The Toronto Raptors hope they don’t have to follow that route. Marc Gasol played a critical role in last year’s title run, but the only way he can do that again is to get into gear during the final month of the regular season.
Send me any Raptors related content that I may have missed: rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com
