The Raptors halted an eight-game losing streak with a big win over the Phoenix Suns. It had become clear in the preceding two weeks that the Raptors needed Andrea Bargnani on the floor to generate offence, and Bargs' return brought 36 points and six rebounds, including 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. Raps coach Dwane Casey said after the game, "Andrea makes everything easy for everybody else." After the win, the way the Raptors announcers were reminding everybody how long it had been since the Raptors last beat the Suns (14 games) made viewers at home think the Raptors hadn't won in 365 million years. Aaron Gray started the game for the Raptors and played 15 minutes. James Johnson had 18 points and ten rebounds and Gary Forbes also grabbed ten rebounds. Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Steve Nash finished with 17 points and 14 assists in the loss.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; DeRozan throws down the alley-oop from Jose Calderon
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| Bargs carries the Raptors to victory (raptorshq) |
Andrea Bargnani battled through a strained calf that kept him out of six games to score 36 points Tuesday night, but he may have tried to carry the Raptors too soon. Bargnani had to pull himself out of the game in overtime when his bad calf wouldn't let him continue. He had 25 points when he left the game and he may be out for "a while." The Raptors came back from 18 points down in this game to force overtime and won the extra periods led by Linas Kleiza's 25 points. The Raptors hit 10 three-pointers including a couple clutch threes by Jose Calderon. The hard-fought win broke an 11-game losing streak to the Jazz. Paul Millsap had 31 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; Calderon nails the deep dagger three in double-overtime
Game 20- @ Denver (L 96-81 / 6-14 / streak L1) Friday January 27, 2012.
Without Bargnani in the lineup after he reaggravated a calf injury and left the Utah game on crutches, the Raptors struggled to score. In the first quarter the Raps started out 1-for-15 from the field and at one point missed 12 shots in a row. Barbosa and Bayless scored 19 and 18 points respectively. Nene scored 20 points and grabbed ten rebounds and Rudy Fernandez hit five three-pointers en route to 23 points. Dwane Casey's quote after the game just about sums up the Raptors situation right now; "Our guys have to believe. We can't sit back and wait for Andrea to come back. As it was said famously before, he's not walking through that door. It's us against the world for a while, we don't know how long it's going to be, and we've got to play like it."
Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson skies for the put-back slam
Game 21- @ New Jersey (W 94-73 / 7-14 / streak W1) Sunday January 29, 2012.
DeMar DeRozan got the breakout game he needed, scoring 19 of his 27 points in the second half and leading the Raptors to their first win in eight tries this season without Andrea Bargnani. With the win, the Raptors finish 3-2 on their five-game roadtrip. Bayless added 17 points and threw down a point-guard-to-point-guard alley-oop while Toronto elected to go with a small lineup. Despite the Raptors lack of presence down low they shot 51.5% from the floor. Deron Williams had 24 points in the loss.
Raptor Highlight of the Night; PG Calderon to PG Bayless alley-oop
Game 21- vs Hawks (L 100-77 / 7-15 / streak L1) Tuesday January 31, 2012.
The Raptors came up flat in a losing effort to the Hawks shooting just 37% from the field. The Raps looked like they'd hang around in the first two quarters, but the Hawks pulled away in the second half led by Joe Johnson's 30 points in 30 minutes on 13-18 shooting. The Raptors simply had no answer defensively for JJ who made shot after shot all night. Ed Davis had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Jerryd Bayless led the team with 14 points. The scoring slump returns for Toronto who will try to regroup before playing in Boston Wednesday night
Raptor Highlight of the Night; Defense leads to offense and DeMar delivers the perfect pass
The Week Ahead
Wednesday, Feb 1 - @ Boston Celtics. 7:30pm
Friday, Feb 3 - vs Washington Wizards. 7pm
Sunday, Feb 5 - @ Miami Heat. 1pm
Monday, Feb 6 - @ Washington Wizards. 7pm
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