The Toronto Raptors have defeated the Orlando Magic tonight with 104-95. It was a match in which the hosts dominated throughout most of the game, but have allowed the guests to come back in the final period.
Nick Nurse’s guys had a 14-point lead in the second, and the third period and they couldn’t close the match. With 4:18 until the end, Terrence Ross made a three-pointer which put the Magic on top, 89-87, and that was when the alarm among the Raptors went off. Kyle Lowry stepped in and did his part of the job, destroying the Magic defense with 8 points in the next two and a half minutes.
“I think that if you give me another couple of weeks of playing and give me some extra cardio, get my body a little more right, and I’ll be a little bit better,” the Raptors point guard was joking with the media after the game.
He ended the night with 26 points, 6 assists and 5 boards. As always, Pascal Siakam was there, only he had a nice run in the first period, scoring 10 points, turning up the volume early. The Most Improved Player of the last season added 24 points, 9 boards, shooting 9 of 16 from the field.
“We need (Lowry) out there at the end of the game, to take shots and make shots like he did,” said Siakam about his teammate.
The hosts reached an early lead, gaining a double-digit advantage already after the first quarter, 34-22. The Magic got back in the second sequence, but immediately after the break, the hosts once again pulled away to a safe distance. Coming into fourth, the Raptors still had a double-digit lead, but couldn’t score for almost four and a half minutes. It is how the Magic got back in the game.
Luckily for the home team, they managed to put it under control and to close the game without any more problems.
Jonathan Isaac scored 24 points with 7 boards, shooting threes 5 of 7. Evan Fournier had 18 points for the guests, while, Markelle Fultz scored 13 and had 5 boards.
Nikola Vucevic, the leader of this crew, ended the night with just 5 points, shooting 1 of 13 from the field. He did record 12 rebounds but was offensively pretty bad.
“I don’t remember going 1 for 13,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.”
In general, the Magic had a poor shooting percentage, making 34 of 89 shots for 38.2%. The Raptors weren’t much better, but at least they started hitting when it mattered the most.
But there was one more difference, as the home team missed just two of their 30 free throws, and were perfect in the final period, hitting all 13 of them.
Apart from Lowry and Siakam, VanVleed added 14 buckets and 6 assists, OG Anunoby 12 with 8 boards, while Marc Gasol posted a double-double with 10 points and boards.
The Raptors are facing the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, before meeting with the Bucks in Milwaukee on Friday.
Orlando hosts the Knicks on Wednesday also and meets the Bucks on Saturday.
