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It's not the prettiest game the Raptors have played and you could almost feel the players wanting to be home, but when the chips were down, the Raptors played tough defense to close out this game.
Put it this way, if I just placed these stats in your face, you probably thought the Raptors lost.
Raptors FG %: 40.7 Magic FG %: 50.0
Raptors Rebounds: 32 Magic Rebounds: 45
Raptors Assists: 20 Magic Assists: 22
So where did the Raptors make up for it? Well, ball handling was big as the Raptors only turned the ball over 9 times the entire game to Orlando's 18. As a result, the Raptors got 11 more field goal attempts than the Magic. They also made twice as many threes.
And while Jose Calderon is still playing quite out of his mind, I feel like the MVP needs to go to...
Raptors MVP: Terrence Ross
That put back dunk, followed by a block, followed by that breakaway dunk was too much for my emotions. Ross is proving why he was the guy I loved the Raptors to take in the summer. Put that together with some tough D and working well in the crunch, and the Raptors may have finally found their Mo Pete glue guy that they've missed for oh-so-long.
Honorable Mention: Amir Johnson
+11 for the night and once again, the anchor of our D, Amir Johnson continues to show why he may very well be the heart and soul of the Raptors for the foreseeable future. Sporting a new hair cut, he managed to put up 10 points and seven rebounds and was just a solid guy on the floor.
Raptors LVP: Mickael Pietrus
I know. His defense at the end of the game was solid and probably saved the Raptors from possibly going into overtime.
I'm just not happy with the consistency we're getting from him.
To be honest, there were plays where I wasn't happy with Ed Davis (shooting way too much from the outside) and DeMar DeRozan as well. I just think Pietrus had even less impact than those other two.
Most Appropriate Inapproriate Comment of the Night: Via Jenge
In response to my "How do you like Amir's New Haircut" question
It looks like the Raptors mascot had his way with Amir....
Best & Worst Jack/Matt Quotes
Watched this game on NBA Game Time, so this one's for all the commentators to fill in on your own.
Most bizarre moment:
Jameer Nelson loses the ball out of bounds... OFF HIS FACE.
Note: Jonas Valanciunas left the game with a broken finger (right ring finger). He did not return to the game and may not return for a while.