Ryan Anderson leads as Orlando Magic pull away in the 4th to stun the Toronto Raptors: NBA Recap
Ryan Anderson has been a class apart for the Orlando Magic this season.
After a season opening loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Ryan, along with Dwight Howard, has been responsible for getting the Magic 4 wins in a row. The latest one among them came on Sunday night against
the Toronto Raptors, when the Magic shooter keyed a 16-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to convert an 11 point hole into five point lead and eventually a 102-96 win.
Anderson knocked down two triples in the spurt while Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick followed with one each to turn the game on its head. Turkoglu who started the game changing run with a layup finished the
night with 15 points and 7 assists, while Redick added 21 points.
Dwight Howard had another big night with 19 points and 15 boards for the Magic.
The Raps gave Magic a run for their money throughout the first three quarter, courtesy of some phenomenal co-ordination between Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani, who finally seems to be delivering under new
head coach Dwane Casey.
Bargnani scored a game high 28 points, but could manage only three in the crucial last quarter. He was disappointed at best with his team’s performance;
"We really made the game for three quarters; we played good offense and great defense," he said. "But we didn't play that way in the fourth quarter. We played really bad."
Calderon had 18 points and 13 assists while DeMar DeRozan ended with 18 points and 6 rebounds.
Raptors got off to a fast start and after a three point play by Bargnani to start the second quarter, they were leading by 30-18. Orlando however mounted an Anderson inspired fight back to take a 40-39 lead
with 4:25 to go in the first half. Raptors trailed by as many as three in the next couple of minutes, but rattled the Magic with a 9-2 burst to go into the break with a 52-47 lead.
Raps extended their lead to 69-53 midway through the third and with 7:49 remaining in the game, they were leading by 89-78. However, they went cold for the next minutes to see the Magic pull away with an exceptional
late surge.
The loss marked the second fourth quarter meltdown; the Raps have endured in as many games, the first one being against the Dallas Mavericks. Jose Calderon rued the fact after the game;
"I don't really have an explanation as to why this game got away," Calderon said. "It's tough. It's kind of like the same thing that happened with Dallas. They're two veteran teams. They know how to play in
those moments. We've got to learn from that."
Ryan Anderson,
Orlando Magic,
Toronto Raptors,
NBA,
Dwight Howard,
Hedo Turkoglu,
J.J. Redick,
Jose Calderon,
Andrea Bargnani,
DeMar DeRozan,
Dwane Casey
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