The Toronto Raptors posted another win on their tour through the Western Conference. The latest victims of Nick Nurse’s team were the Portland Trail Blazers, who were crushed in the last period. The Canadian side and the NBA champions eventually posted a 114-106 triumph at Moda Center.
It was another excellent display on both sides of the court for Toronto. Meanwhile, Trail Blazers struggled to score in the most important moments of the match, which is why they lost again. With the result leveled at 94-all at 7:34 to go, the Raptors began pounding really hard, and they made a 14-0 run, holding the hosts without a basket for almost four minutes. After that, there was no turning back.
Pascal Siakam delivered nine of those 14 points, and the Raptors’ forward demolished the Blazers’ defense this Wednesday night. The Most Improved Player of the previous year ended the contest with 36 points, 6 rebounds shooting 15 for 28 from the field.
But he guy who really made a difference in the attack was Fred VanVleet with 30 buckets. Apart from his playmaking duties, he was a constant threat for the Trail Blazers’ basket, hitting 10 of his 16 shots, 4 for 6 from behind the arc. VanVleet had 7 assists and 4 boards too.
“He was really aggressive tonight, making shots and do what he does… That’s why he’s a point guard; he’s a leader of our team, he sees everything so credit to him too.”
Meanwhile, on the other side, the leading star Damian Lillard interrupted his streak of 230 games with 10 or more points, which is the franchise record. Dame had just 9 buckets, and was 2 for 12 from the field, adding 10 assists. Over the recent few games, Toronto’s defense on the leading stars of the rival teams was superb, and Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, and Lillard shot 23.6% combined from the field.
“Even when I try to get downhill and be aggressive, there’s four guys right there. The right play is to kick it ahead, get it out, that was the only option they gave me a lot of times. It’s just what it was.” Dame described to the reporters how does it feel to play against Raptors’ defense.
Rodney Hood tried to replace Lillard, and he did score 25 points, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a loss. CJ McCollum had 19 points and 6 rebounds, Hassan Whiteside 12 and 6 boards. Anfernee Simons once again had a solid role off the bench with 17 buckets shooting 6 for 11 from the game.
Among the Raptors, beside the mentioned-above duo, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson contributed with a solid double-double 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Terence Davis had 15 points. The Raptors had more rebounds, 50-43, and were dominant in the paint, completely outscoring the hosts 50-22.
Toronto is now 8-3, and has one more game to play on the road before ending this journey. They will be facing young sensation Luka Doncic and his Dallas Mavericks on Saturday at the American Airlines Center. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers are 4-8, and are about to have a five-game tour of their own, which starts in San Antonio. After that Lillard and the crew visit Houston, New Orleans, Milwaukee, and Cleveland
