NBA roundup 3rd April: Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers win (Part-3)
Toronto Raptors 102 – Orlando Magic 98
DeMar DeRozan and Jerryd Bayless combined for 47 points as Toronto Raptors startled the Orlando Magic 102-98 victory at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday night. The Magic lost their third in the last four games and with the playoffs
just on the horizon their coach Stan Van Gundy is concerned.
The Magic’s defense was shaky when their superstar Dwight Howard left the court in the second half the game. Van Gundy was disappointed with the situation and said after the game. "It's a little ridiculous that we can't even let
Dwight [Howard] get a drink of water, but that's the way it is. When he leaves, we have no defense and today we had very little offense. It's crazy; we should be able to take him out to get a drink of water."
Howard was impressive once again and landed a game-high 31 points. Jameer Nelson scored 21 however the duo’s incredible efforts were outshined by the Raptors in the fourth quarter.
The visiting Magic were leading with four points, when Bayless jump shot followed by a sizzling 3-pointer from James Johnson placed Toronto on the frontline 17-16. Jason Richardson buried two successive blows from downtown and
Howard carried the action just before the halftime as Orlando managed to seal 49-46 advantage as the game progressed into the first half.
The star guard Howard and Nelson sustained the domination in the third quarter. They both landed 18 points collectively to spearhead the Magics to 79-73 advantage before the fourth quarter.
The Raptors retaliated stoutly in the final period when Johnson’s blistering Layup shot snatched the lead 85-84 from Orlando. DeRozan and Bayless joined the action in the defining moments of the play and Toronto relished an outstanding
102-98 victory.
Portland Trail Blazers 104 – Dallas Mavericks 96
Six players from the Portland Trail Blazers scored in double figures to overpower Dallas Mavericks 104-96 at Rose Garden on Sunday night. Gerald Wallace led the scoring with 19 points for Trail Blazers as the team won their eighth
straight game at their home court.
The veteran Jason Kidd had a worst night in his career as he went scoreless in more than 27 minutes of play-time. He was equally disappointing on the rebounds and assists and was a big reason for the Mavericks’ defeat. Shawn Marion
and Rodrigue Beaubois combined for 37 while their superstar Dirk Nowitzki ended the night with 16 points.
Portland’s starters headed out aggressively from the beginning as the whole team displayed a great example of a teamwork. The home team romped with 19-12 run to clinch an early advantage. Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez carried
the momentum for Portland in the starting minutes of the second quarter and amplified the lead 41-32. Mathews and Wallace came up with successive blows as the home team managed to grab 61-46 advantage as the game progressed into the first half.
Trail Blazers sustained the action after halftime, however Dallas took the charge aggressively and assailed from beyond the arc to cut down the deficit. Dallas succeeded in winning the third period by four points and surge stoutly
into the fourth quarter.
Despite of restricting the home to score in the ending minutes of the play, the Mavericks failed to overcome the lead. Portland constructed a massive advantage before half time that helped them to seal a brilliant 104-96 victory.
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