Raptors Rapid Recap: Raptors Drop Fifth Straight in 106-97 Loss to Suns

The Toronto Raptors looked to put the Golden State fiasco from earlier this week behind them tonight by getting a win against the Phoenix Suns.  While the game didn't have nearly the same level of dramatic appeal, it did conclude with the same result, a Raptors loss.  The Suns used a consistent offensive push from the second quarter on to win it 106 to 97 as the Dinos lose their fifth in a row.

At this point Dwane Casey is probably describing losses like this considering the various ways his club is losing:

Both teams came up firing putting up a combined 54 points in the first quarter.

But whereas the Suns looked like they had a consistent plan to their attacks, the Dinos struggled to do anything consistent on O, and had a tough time matching up on D, especially in terms of keeping Phoenix off the glass.  The Suns had 17 offensive rebounds on the night, a major reason for their eventual victory, and used 19 fast-break points to keep the Raps on their heels all night.

Markieff Morris led the Suns with 25 points and 11 rebounds but he got a lot of help from teammates tonight. PJ Tucker, Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Marcus Morris all scored in double figures, and Phoenix had a complete team effort in the win.

The Raptors got 22 points from Amir Johnson off the bench and DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry also scored in double figures.  However the Raps couldn't execute their offense with much efficiency. Gay and DeRozan were a combined 11 for 30, and as noted, hardly put forth much of a cohesive attack.

Also of note in this one, Tyler Hansbrough left the game early in the first quarter due to a sprained left shoulder and did not return.  While his presence likely would have changed the rebounding story a bit, considering wings like PJ Tucker and Gerald Green combined for 17 rebounds, it's tough to say Psycho T would have completely leveled the playing field.

The Raps next game is this Sunday evening as they close out their West Coast road trip in LA.

And guess who's back...