The Toronto Raptors bounced back from a mini two-game losing streak Saturday against the New Orleans Pelicans. Here’s what stood out from the contest.
49 one more time
With the win over the Pelicans, the Raptors tied a franchise record in wins and still have 10 games remaining on the season. They are on pace to shatter their franchise mark and it is worth noting that three of the best records in franchise history belong to Dwane Casey.
Toronto plays the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday for a chance at its 50th win.
50 wins
The 50-win plateau won’t come easy for the Raptors. Although they are returning home for a pair, their next seven games are against teams with a winning record: Oklahoma City, Atlanta (twice), Memphis, San Antonio, and Charlotte are all in the post-season and are jockeying for position. The Spurs might be resting guys when they face Toronto but everyone else will be playing for keeps.
After that, Toronto has a reprieve and finish with the season against three of the worst teams in the league in the New York Knicks, Philadelphia Sixers, and Brooklyn Nets.
Pat-Man Returns
It has been a good return for Patrick Patterson. The reserve big man managed to accumulate 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, five rebounds, and 3 assists in under 20 minutes. That makes it back-to-back double-digit scoring performances as he had 11 points and three rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting in 20 minutes of work versus Houston. Patterson will be in the Raptors’ rotation no matter if his shot is falling because he gives Casey defensive flexibility. However, a healthy and offensively efficient Patterson makes the Raptors an offensive juggernaut.
Scola Scoring from Deep
Luis Scola might need to enter the three-point contest next year as he’s been Toronto’s most reliable threat from deep of late. Scola now has five straight games with three or more triples. Playing the tail end of a back-to-back, Scola had a career-high four made three-pointers on five attempts. This comes from a guy who entered the season 10-of-60 from beyond the arc in his career.
We Want Bruno
It isn’t just “We the North” chants being heard on the road now. “We want Bruno” chants rained down in the Smoothie King Centre as the fans who made the trip to New Orleans made their voices heard. The chant really picked up steam with five minutes to go and Bruno eventually came in with 2:04 left and a 24-point advantage.
Super Stat – DeMar DeRozan stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, five assists and five rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting. All five Toronto starters scored in double digits.