Raptors Overcome Slow Start To Take Lead In The Fourth, But Fall to Pistons 108-104

The Raptors had a chance to clinch a playoff spot tonight with a road win against Detroit, but came out sluggish in the first quarter. They came back to take the lead in the fourth after falling behind by double digits, but ended up falling short in a 108-104 loss.

The first quarter belonged to Detroit, as Anthony Tolliver, starting for an injured Greg Monroe, scored 11 points in the first 12 minutes, including hitting all three of his attempts from downtown. Overall, the Pistons were 7-for-11 from three in the first quarter, jumping out to a 37-27 lead. Amir Johnson led the Raptors with eight points in the quarter. 16 of the Raptors 27 points however came inside the painted area in the first.

To make matters worst, Kyle Lowry left the game early in the second quarter with back spasms and did not return. The Raptors took the lead briefly late in the fourth quarter, but down by two late in the game, Lou Williams ran the shot clock down and took a long three-pointer and missed. And that was the ball game.

DeMar DeRozan led the team with 22 points and 10 rebounds. He was just 5-for-17 from the field but made all 12 of his free throw attempts. Despite the late miss, Lou finished with 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting. James Johnson earned a DNP-CD, which is probably an entirely separate discussion which we've had several times this season.

The Raptors return home tomorrow to take on the Chicago Bulls. They'll need to finish 6-5 just to match last season's win total.

What did everybody think?