The one bright spot for the Raptors in the early going was the play of Amir Johnson, who led the team with 10 first half points on an efficient 5 of 6 shooting, while managing to pull down 6 rebounds. Unfortunately, Johnson was subbed out of the game after seemingly rolling his ankle with 5:41 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and did not return for the rest of the game.
In the third quarter, Kyle Lowry happened.
To be fair, Lowry didn't do it alone. Terrence Ross and DeMar DeRozan both came out of the locker room to open the second half with a little extra bounce in their step. Toronto's wings combined to score the Raptor's first 18 points of the half. This seemed to flick a switch in Lowry's head, as he went on to score 17 of his game-high 28 points in the last six and a half minutes of the third quarter. Lowry ended the quarter with a step-back, fading three pointer at the buzzer, extending the Raptors lead to 15. Dagger.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, momentum was clearly in favour of the Raptors. Orlando couldn't manage to close the gap, as Lowry and DeRozan continued to carry the offensive load for Toronto. Also to note in the fourth quarter, we got our first look at Masai's newest acquisition, Nando De Colo. The former San Antonio Spur only saw the court for about 5 minutes so I can't really critique his play. I can say, however, it was good to see him dribble out the final seconds of yet another win for your Toronto Raptors.