Toronto Raptors beat Los Angeles Clippers 98-93
The Toronto Raptors snapped a three-game losing streak with a 98-93 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday night.
Toronto was led by a balanced attack, as six players scored in double-figures. Andrea Bargnani netted a game-high 27 points for the Raptors, who won just their 15th game of the 2010-11 season. Meanwhile, DeMar DeRozan continued his mid-range shooting display
to finish with 17 points, while Ed Davis had 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the home victory.
Toronto’s 23-year-old forward Amir Johnson praised the growth of rookie Ed Davis during the season. Johnson said, "He is coming along. He is learning every day. The fact that they have got me, [Alex] English, Andrea [Bargnani], Reggie [Evans] in his ear
every day, just telling him all of the stuff we know, and he actually listens and uses it."
Jose Calderon came off the bench with 10 points and 11 assists while Sonny Weems scored 10 for the Raptors, who sold out their first home game since 2 January, 2011 against Boston Celtics. The crowd at Air Canada Centre was excited to see rookie sensation
Blake Griffin. Despite a great effort, Griffin ended up on the losing side with a team-high 21 points and 15 rebounds.
Raptors coach Jay Triano said, "You listen to enough people talk about Blake Griffin, I think it gets our guys fired up to play him and try to stop him. They don't want to be the recipient of him dunking on them or making plays on them."
Baron Davis scored 20 points while Brian Cook registered a season-high 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting for Los Angeles, who lost for the sixth time in their last seven games.
Match Analysis
The Raptors and the Clippers began the game at a crisp pace, using 24 possessions apiece in the first two quarters. An evenly played first half saw both teams tying the game at 48, heading into the third.
The Raptors came out strongly in the third quarter. With six minutes left in the quarter, Toronto led by 66-59 after DeRozan’s running slam dunk shot from the corner. The Clippers then went on a couple of runs to take their first lead of the game, but they
didn’t manage to figure out a way to slow the Clippers offence. At the end of three quarters, the Raptors held a 78-71 edge.
The Clippers finally had a good defensive run in the fourth to cut the lead to seven points inside five minutes. However, DeAndre Jordan fouled Bargnani on a bank shot, and Bargnani completed the three-point play with less than four minutes remaining.
Leading by 96-91 with 55 seconds left, Toronto’s Jose Calderon hit three consecutive free throws to seal his side’s 10th home victory this season.
An excited DeRozan said after the game, "I wish we could play a big game every night. It seems like every time we play a team with a superstar and a lot of hype around it, we definitely step up, and we did tonight."
Tags: