Raptors Final Score: Dinos Win Second Straight, Crush Bobcats 99-78

Tonight, the Raptors did what they couldn't do the last time these teams faced off: They took care of business.

The Raptors played a much weaker team, and did exactly what was expected considering the Raptors' play of late, throttling the Charlotte Bobcats 99 to 78. The Raptors held no mercy on the 9-26 'Cats, as they played hard until the final buzzer, and kept it entertaining the whole way through, with big dunks spread throughout the game. Alan Anderson, Amir Johnson, and Jose Calderon all had solid performances, but unfortunately there can only be one Raptors MVP...

Raptors MVP: Alan Anderson

Tonight's game featured another great performance from Alan Anderson, who scored a team high 16 points in just 26 minutes, most of which came in the second half. Anderson was a big part of the Raptors' effort to prevent a Charlotte comeback, launching three point daggers that killed the Bobcats' momentum at every turn.

Honorable Mention: Jose Calderon

The Raptors set the tone early with great ball movement and a fast paced offense led by their quarterback, Jose Calderon. Jose had a great first half, scoring 13 points and recording 6 assists. He didn't have nearly as much of an impact in the second half, but it didn't matter; by then the Raptors had built and were able to up a huge lead.

The Andrea Bargnani Award (LVP): DeMar DeRozan

Well, the leader in this category, Mickael Pietrus, spent the game sitting on the bench, so that rules him out.

Could the LVP be... Landry Fields? Nope, lots of energy, 11 rebounds, good game. What about the other usuals, Gray and Kleiza? Not those two, Gray played solid defense down low, and Kleiza watched the game in a suit.

Instead, the LVP goes to an unusual victim, DeMar DeRozan, who was a complete non-factor on offense tonight. His shot simply wasn't falling, as he went 2-8 from the floor, and missed his lone three-point attempt. DeMar also managed just two rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes. Not to mention a dunk that caught the attention of Leo Rautins. More on that...

Best Leo/Matt Moment:

The first quarter was filled with dunks. Ed Davis, T-Ross, Amir and DeMar were lighting up the ACC with dunk-after-dunk-after-dunk. So many, in fact, that Leo/Matt started getting spoiled on us, as Leo responded to a DeMar DeRozan one-handed jam by saying "Well, that was a boring dunk".

Leo Rautins, ladies and gentlemen.

Comment of the game: via THE TREEEEEEEEEE

"Man whats up with that chick screaming "3!,2!" at the shot clock Is it her job? if so then 1) She's conributing far more than Bafgs and Pietrus combined and 2) BC is probably gorssly overpaying her at about 45 Million per year"

Garbage time player of the game: Quincy Acy

To clarify: Yes, I know that not all of Acy's minutes were of the garbage time variation; he played about five minutes in the second quarter, but the majority of his minutes, and his best play came at the end of the game, when the Raptors had already secured the win. Therefore, garbage time.

Anyways, Acy had some stiff competition for this award. John Lucas and Aaron Gray were both deserving candidates, but when it came down to marking down a winner, Quincy Acy ran away with this one. Tonight was the best game of Acy's career, as he posted career highs in minutes, rebounds, and blocks; not to mention his two late game dunks, and first career post game interview. A historic day for the Acy family!

Tweet of the game:

3 stars of the night: 1. Alan Anderson 2. Andrea Bargnani (Thank you for not playing!) 3. Aaron Gray for not attempting a shot #Raptors #RTZ

— Tyril Ong (@tdotsfinest26) January 12, 2013

Box Score:

The Raptors next game is Sunday afternoon vs Milwaukee, as the Raptors will look to finish off their current six-game home-stand with a win. It's actually a fairly big match suddenly, as with tonight's win, the Raptors are only a half game behind the Philadelphia 76ers for ninth in the East, and four and a half back of...yes...

...the Bucks.

Be sure to drop by the HQ as we break it down live.