After three days of rest in Miami, the Toronto Raptors looked rejuvenated and refocused in a big road win over the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday night.
The comeback victory was Toronto’s 17th win after trailing by 10 points or more, the most in the NBA. The talk leading up to the game was Toronto facing the New Orleans Pelicans’ all-star big-man duo of Kentucky alums Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. In the end, it was the Raptors’ bigs who stole the show. They now head to Atlanta for what might be a Eastern conference first-round preview.
Here are my takeaways of the Raptors 38th win of the season:
Jonas to the rescue
The story of the game was Jonas Valanciunas.
He was the best player on the floor for either team with 25 points, 13 rebounds and two assists. Aggressive from the outset, he got to the free-throw line a team-high 11 times. The rest of the Raptors combined got to the charity stripe 12 times. After Serge Ibaka left with foul trouble early, Valanciunas played so well he earned himself minutes late, playing in the fourth quarter for the first time since the all-star break. He responded with his sixth 20-and-10 performance of the year.
Valanciunas secured his 100th career double-double in the win, which puts him third all-time in Raptors history behind Antonio Davis and Chris Bosh.
P.J. playing possessed
P.J. Tucker got the start for the injured DeMarre Carroll, who is still out with a left ankle sprain.
Tucker was instrumental. He finished tied with a team-high plus-seven and was all over the court, grabbing six rebounds, taking charges defensively and providing spacing offensively hitting two three pointers. He perfectly executed the role Raptors brass hoped Carroll would fulfill.
Tucker already closes games as it is, but if he continues to play this well you wonder if he’ll command minutes from the outset of games.
Ibaka in control
Ibaka made an early exit with two fouls after four and a half minutes gone in the first quarter. Jakob Poeltl once again was the first big off the bench over Lucas Nogueira.
Ibaka was still able to play under control and challenge shots while staying out of foul trouble when he re-entered, playing 22 minutes and only picking up one more foul. The deadline acquisition finished with 12 points and four blocks, all of which were emphatic.
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DeMar does it differently
DeMar DeRozan had another slow start offensively. The Raptors were down one at the half despite just three points from the all-star shooting guard, who was 1-of-7 after 24 minutes. The Pelicans were throwing multiple bodies at DeRozan and often doubling him on the catch. He was able to make the adjustment and became a facilitator in the second half as he continued to draw extra attention.
Ultimately, DeRozan couldn’t find his shot, going 5-of-15 for 14 points but he led the team in assists with six.
Davis hurt, depth shows
Anthony Davis had multiple hard falls in the first half. When play resumed after halftime, Davis did not return due to a left wrist contusion.
New Orleans struggled without their all-star centre, as the Pelicans don’t have much offensive depth behind Davis and Cousins. E’Twaun Moore and 10-day contract NBA development league call-up Jordan Crawford were the only other Pelicans players to score in double figures besides Cousins, who finished with 25.
On the flip side, all five starters for Toronto had a positive plus/minus, as did super-sub Patrick Patterson.