Game Report- Raptors @ Grizzlies

Raptors 103, Grizzlies 87.

Man, I wish every road trip could be like that.

The Raptors earned the 1-1 split on the tough Houston-Memphis road trip with what turned out to be a comfortable 103-87 win over the Grizzlies.

Just like in the Houston game, the Raptors brought the kind of defensive energy that makes us question why they can't do it every game. Rudy Gay led the way on D with 5 steals, but the effort across the whole team was what got us the W.

After the criticism in the wake of the Houston loss (Gay 11-37 FG, DeRozan 6-25 FG), the first quarter was perfect. Rudy Gay turned down his usual poor shots and threw a number of lovely passes, including a highlight reel dime to a cutting DeRozan. The sharing on offense was the perfect response to a team that had been accused of being fundamentally selfish. DeRozan had 13 points in the first, consisting mainly of buckets on the inside. The team threw 7 assists in the quarter, and forced 5 turnovers. Perfect. 26-20 Raps.

The tight defense rolled on into the second, lead by a hustling Terrence Ross and Amir Johnson. The ball movement on offense was sweet, again, with the Raptors shooting 7/9 from deep in the first half. Unlike the Houston game, where the three-pointers were forced or late in the clock, tonight's threes were open looks and in rhythm. Marc Gasol lead the Grizzlies fight with some lovely mid-range game; the Grizzlies bigs were always likely to be the problem, but the Raps stood up to them on D. Another positive quarter, 55-44 Raps.

The Griz were always going to make a run and they made it pretty hard at the start of the third. Conley lit it up from deep, and, combined with Rudy gay converting back to his old forced long-two game, Memphis were able to tie it up at 70. However, this was the last time Memphis were in the ballgame, with the Raptors closing the quarter on a 8-1 run, behind some mid-range work from Kyle Lowry and DeRozan. The six turnovers for the quarter were clearly down to the increase in defensive pressure from Memphis, but it is definitely safe to say that Memphis are not the same defensive powerhouse they were under Lionel Hollins. 78-71 Raps.

The real positive sign I took from the start of the fourth was the Raptors getting to the line (39 FTAs for the night). With all the Raptors athletic-type players (Gay, DeRozan, Ross) there is really no excuse for not taking the ball to the rim and drawing the foul, and that was exactly what happened to start the last and burn off the chasing Grizzlies. The clear highlight was Gay picking off a loose Grizzlies pass and sharing the ball to Terrence Ross for the jam. Gay buried a jumper with four minutes to play, extending the lead to 19 and sending the Memphis fans to the exits. Raps win.

If Toronto brings the defensive energy and ball movement on offense that has clearly been emphasised over the two-game road trip, there is no reason why the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference is not attainable. 

PLAYER VOTES
3 votes- Kyle Lowry (21pts, 6/10FG, 6asts, 2stls). When Kyle brings his energy like he did tonight, he's a terrific leader of this basketball team. Continued to find his range from beyond the arc, and lead the defensive pressure with Rudy.

2 votes- Rudy Gay (23pts, 8/18FG, 5stls, 4asts). Perfect response after the Houston game, where he did have the right idea, but just took too many shots. Chose his shots well, but also shared the ball particularly well too. His defense won us the game, unlucky not to get the 3 votes.

1 vote- Demar DeRozan (18pts, 7/13FG, 4asts, 2stls). Avoided criticism against Houston because Rudy took 37 shots. Great response from Demar too. His first quarter, consisting of good inside work as well as open jumpers, set the tone for the whole night.

Next- Bulls @ Raptors, 15th November.