Andrea Bargnani on fire as Toronto Raptors defeat Phoenix Suns 99 – 96 –NBA Recap(Part 2)
The Toronto Raptors success was built on a superb showing in the third quarter where they completely overawed the Phoenix Suns with a swashbuckling display. The Raptors piled on 31 points in the quarter immediately after the break and only allowed 19 at
the other end.
The period completely turned the game in their favour. It was no coincidence that the Raptors were at their best in the second half of the game, where Andrea Bargnani scored the majority of his points. The forward had struggled somewhat in the first half
and revealed after the game that his better display after the interval was thanks to a change in approach.
"I didn't do anything different from the first quarter because I was pretty aggressive in the first quarter too, I just didn't score," he said. "Jose (Calderon) told me to shoot from the outside because I was just driving the ball and everybody was waiting
for me. They found me open and they went in. it was all good.”
Calderon himself had a good game with 6 points and garnered 11 assists as he directed the traffic for Toronto. His playmaking though was still second to the legendary Steve Nash, who produced another amazing display only to end up on the losing side.
Nash and the Phoenix Suns just arrived home after a tough five game road trip and the point guard believed that was one of the reasons behind their loss on the night. Nash suggested that the Raptors had more in the tank compared to Phoenix and that ultimately
proved to be the difference.
"Obviously we were struggling for energy and I think that was the key, especially in that third quarter," Nash said. "They beat us on all the second-effort plays. They made a lot more of the plays, hustling for loose balls or running the floor, little things
like that."
It was a classic game of two halves with both sides enjoying ascendency at different times on the night. The Suns led by as much as 14 points at one occasion but still succumbed to the Raptors, whose largest lead amounted to 12 points.
Phoenix also had more points in the paint compared to the Raptors and were 47.6 percent from the floor, with Toronto at 41.5 percent. The difference between the sides though was in the details. Toronto had a higher number of rebounds and they were much more
effective from beyond the arc, 53.3 percent while Phoenix were 31.2 percent.
The Raptors and the Suns were pretty close in other departments, such as turnovers and fast break points, although Toronto were much more deadlier from the free throw line; 92 percent compared to 76.5 percent for Phoenix.
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