NBA Recap: Toronto Raptors lose at home to Detroit Pistons, 101-95
The Detroit Pistons defeated the Toronto Raptors 101-95 on Friday night at Air Canada Centre, leading to their 13th victory of the thirteenth victory of the season 2010-11.
High-Flying Players
Tracy McGrady and the rest of the Detroit Pistons are shining brightest when the spotlight is on them. The Raptors got a season-high 22 points from former Raptor, Tracy
McGrady.
"I'm starting to feel a lot better physically," the former Raptor said. "Being out for so long I think I've actually gotten a little smarter on the basketball court, just
from seeing the game from afar."
Rodney Stuckey played well as he contributed 19 points in the victory. Charlie Villanueva posted 16 points and 8 rebounds while Greg Monroe ended with 12 points for the
Pistons, who defeated the Raptors for the second time in Toronto this season. Chris Wilcox registered 12 rebounds and 4 points for the victors.
Andrea Bargnani scored game-high 31 points in the defeat. DeMar DeRozan scored 15 points in the season’s 26th defeat of Toronto. Linas Kleiza scored 13 points,
Jose Calderon had 11 points and 13 assists for the Raptors, who have lost eight of 10 at home and 9 of 12 overall in this season.
First Quarter
Detroit entered the home court of the Raptors for the second time in this season and trounced them twice.
The Pistons' dominance was complete and utter right from the opening quarter, taking a 31-26 advantage into the second. McGrady scored 9 points to end the first quarter
with a pair of 3-pointers.
Second Quarter
The Pistons extended their defensive play to the second quarter, playing some terrific tenacious shots.
Detroit played almost a breath-taking first half, shooting 58 percent and committing just two turnovers.
Charlie Villanueva made two fantastic 3-pointers and was fouled, prompting MVP (Most Valuable Player) chants from the thousands of Detroit fans who made the short drive.
He completed the four-point play to push the Pistons lead to 61-54 at the half.
"That was something we talked about at halftime," Villanueva said. "We were poised throughout the whole game. We played a good 48 minutes of basketball. We beat them in
every quarter except for the last one. I think we played well overall."
Third Quarter
After trailing by seven at the half, the Raptors fell behind by as many as 15 in the third quarter and fought to get the deficit down to six. McGrady’s a 3-pointer extended
the Detroit lead back to nine. McGrady scored 10 of the Pistons’ points in the third, taking an 83-74 lead into the final stanza.
"In the past couple of games, the third quarter has been our downfall, just coming out flat and then we're trying to play catch-up later in the game," McGrady said. "Tonight
I wanted to impose my will on the game in the third quarter and, as you see, I was pretty aggressive."
Fourth Quarter
Andrea Bargnani kept the Raptors in it with 11 of his 31 in the fourth quarter, but he missed a layup with just 11 seconds to go.
Ben Gordon of Detroit was fouled, hitting both free throws, he gave the Pistons a 101-93 lead with ten seconds left. The host for rest of the period did not bother the pistons.
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