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DeMar DeRozan had a game high of 27 points and 6 assists and not far behind was sophomore Terrence Ross with a season high of 24 points. The Raptors led the Philadelphia 76ers the entire game and came out with a victory with a final score of 108-100.
The Raptors started off strong at the Air Canada Center last night. Terrence Ross had a fantastic start with multiple dunks and an overall strong presence on the court. The Dinos shared the ball very well to finish the first quarter with 12 assists compared to 76ers 4. This may have been the most I have seen the ball move all year. I wonder if this has anything to do with Rudy Gay being traded? The first quarter ended with a score of 36-21,with the Raptors shooting 66.7 % from the field and 44.4% from the beyond the arc.
During his first game in a Raptors jersey, Greivis Vasquez showcased his style with a variety of creative passes including an over the shoulder pass to Amir Johnson. He also showcased his ability to create space off his go to pick-and-roll play. The first half came to a close with the Raptors up 56-48 over the 76ers. DeRozan had 15 points and 5 assists, which was a welcoming statistic on the box score for him. Terrance Ross contributed 15 points himself.
The Raptors were able to maintain their lead throughout the third quarter. Together, both Jonas Valanciunas and Amir Johnson handled the boards and DeMar DeRozan took care of scoring to make sure that the 76ers didn’t come within striking distance. Kyle Lowry ended the third with his first bucket seconds before the buzzer.
The Raptors came out of the fourth quarter with a strong start. While they didn’t make any big defensive stops, they managed to exchange points with the Sixers with buckets of their own. Philadelphia managed to come within 4 points with 2 minutes left in the fourth, however, the Raps had some timely baskets, most notably the baseline 3 made by Terrence Ross to pull the team ahead by 7 points, and that was all she wrote.
Sidenotes:
Kyle Lowry had a big impact on last night's game as while he only finished with 6 points, he had 11 assists and was +21 on the evening.
Other than Grievis Vasquez, the rest of the newcomers were pretty quiet.
- O- Overall, great night by Terrence Ross. Hopefully there is more to come.
Sarah’s Eye:
John Salmons’ beard and Evan Turner’s patchiness really made me miss the Quincy Acy last night. So sad.