-Even without Kevin Durant this was probably a game most Raptors' fans had marked on their schedules as being a loss. However as they've done in nearly every game this season, the Dinos fought tooth and nail and in the end, out-executed their Western Conference foe in a definitive 111 to 99 victory.
-Win of the year so far? Possibly. This one wasn't a one man show (although Bargs did post 26 and 12) but simply an all out team effort as nine Raptors played and eight of those nine had 6 or more points. The Raptors gave the Thunder a taste of their own medicine nearly equalling the Thunder in fast-break points, beating them on the glass 42 to 34, and using athleticism and energy to eventually pound Westbrook and co. into submission.
-Westbrook did put up 20 points and 7 assists, but had a rather ho-hum game by his standards, being out-played by Jose Calderon overall. Calderon had 15 assists, only one turnover, and did a masterful job running the show for TO. He also did a farily good job on D, something that looked to be a major issue considering his match-up with Westbrook.
-Kudos have to go to Jay Triano here too. Triano did a masterful job moving players in and out depending on game situations, and in the end went small-ball with Calderon and Jerryd Bayless in the back-court when Scott Brooks' Thunder started to cut into Toronto' s lead with a smallish quintet of their own.
-The win itself was a biggie, but even bigger in terms of the big picture. Toronto now sits in 8th place in the Eastern Conference unbelievably, just back of the New York Knicks, who they play twice in the next 3 games. Add a match against Indiana in there and suddenly this team could already be talking playoffs in December...