Magic-Raptors Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Dec 20 2012 3:56PM

While Andrea Bargnani and Kyle Lowry remain sidelined, the Toronto Raptors are surprisingly playing their best basketball of the season.

The Orlando Magic are too, though extending their four-game winning streak may be tough without Glen Davis.

The visiting Magic won't have their starting power forward for the first time this season Friday night when they face the Raptors, who are also seeking a fifth consecutive victory.

Orlando (12-13) ranks 26th in the league with 92.8 points per game but has picked up the pace of late, averaging 99.5 in its last four. The Magic's latest victory, though, came at a cost.

Averaging a team best-tying 16.0 points and 7.9 rebounds, Davis fell to the floor after taking a hard foul with 47.8 seconds left in a 90-83 win over Washington on Wednesday. While an MRI revealed no structural damage on his sprained left shoulder, Davis could miss four to six weeks.

"Everybody is key to this team because we've relied on everyone at different times," guard J.J. Redick told the team's official website. "Glen has been great for us, but we need other guys now to step up. We have capable guys who can do it. I don't expect us to drop off in any way."

Big men Gustavo Ayon, Josh McRoberts and rookie Andrew Nicholson figure to take on more minutes with Davis out. The Magic will also surely need Redick to shoulder more of the scoring load.

Redick, averaging career highs of 14.2 points and 4.9 assists, has scored 16.3 per game while going 13 for 26 from 3-point range during the team's run.

"Our level of play and effort has been consistent all season," he said. "We still have a lot to clean up, but we're improving. That's the biggest thing right now."

While Bargnani and Lowry have missed the last five games, Toronto (8-19) has outscored opponents by an average of 12.0 points during its four consecutive wins.

Jose Calderon had 17 assists and DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points as the Raptors beat Detroit 97-91 on Wednesday. Toronto was outrebounded 44-33 and outscored 50-32 in the paint but committed a season-low six turnovers.

"We're finding ways to win and that's the most important thing for our group," coach Dwane Casey said. "We're believing we can win, we're trusting each other, we're pulling for each other."

The Raptors have also received a huge boost from Alan Anderson, who's averaged 19.3 points off the bench in the last three games. He scored 16 on Wednesday.

"That's what he does," DeRozan said. "If a couple of us don't have it going, he's definitely one guy we can go to to get points or create something for somebody else."

Toronto had dropped three in a row to Orlando before winning 97-86 on Nov. 18 behind a season-high 18 assists from Calderon and 20 points from DeRozan. Davis had 16 points and 12 boards.

DeRozan scores 17 and Raptors beat Magic 93-90

By IAN HARRISON
Posted Dec 21 2012 11:02PM

TORONTO (AP) After losing one rookie to a first-quarter injury, the Toronto Raptors kept their winning streak alive when another rookie came up big in the fourth quarter.

Terrence Ross scored seven of his 13 points in the final quarter, four of them on a pair of high-flying dunks, and the Raptors won their fifth straight game Friday night, beating the Orlando Magic 93-90.

Raptors coach Dwane Casey praised Ross for his efforts at both ends of the court.

"He's playing well," Casey said. "He's earning every second he's on the floor, mainly on the defensive end. He got some key rebounds, some tough rebounds in traffic.

"We're not developing Terrence Ross, he's earning every minute of it," Casey went on. "If he wasn't, he wouldn't be out there."

Orlando's J.J. Redick, who missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds, was also impressed with Ross.

"He shot the ball well, he made a couple of athletic plays that were just next-level," Redick said. "Defensively, he was great. With his length and athleticism, he should be a good defender."

DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points while Jose Calderon had 13 points and nine assists for Toronto. Alan Anderson, Ed Davis and Amir Johnson each had 10.

Toronto lost rookie center Jonas Valanciunas to a broken right ring finger at 7:31 of the first. Valanciunas grabbed his hand after battling for a loose ball under the Magic basket. He was slow to get back on defense, and left the court wincing in pain when he was replaced by Amir Johnson. Valanciunas was taken for X-rays, which revealed the fracture.

"Very unfortunate," Casey said. "He's growing every time he walks on the floor."

Arron Afflalo scored 26 points and Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who lost for the first time in five games. Gustavo Ayon had 12 points and 13 rebounds for his first double-double of the season while E'Twaun Moore added 12.

A soaring putback dunk by Ross and a three-point play by DeRozan put Toronto up 78-68 with 9:35 to go. Orlando used a 6-0 run to cut it to 82-76 before Ross struck again, hitting a long 3, then stealing the ball from Jameer Nelson at midcourt and racing in for a windmill jam that put the Raptors up 87-76 with 5:55 remaining.

"That's one of the most vicious dunks I've seen from Terrence Ross," Casey said.

The Raptors led 91-80 after a pair of free throws by DeRozan with 4:13 left before going cold. Ayon had four points in a 10-0 Magic run capped by Nelson's 3 with 55 seconds left, cutting it to 91-90.

DeRozan missed a layup but Johnson was fouled after grabbing the rebound and made both free throws, giving Toronto a 93-90 lead with 42 seconds left.

Ross made another big play on the next possession by stealing the ball from Ayon after DeRozan had knocked it away. But Toronto couldn't score at the other end, giving Orlando 10 seconds to try for the tying basket.

But Redick missed a 3 and Orlando couldn't get another shot off before the buzzer, giving Toronto its first five-game winning streak since Jan. 22-31, 2010.

"It felt good when it left my hand," Redick said of his late miss. "I had a direct line, I was square to the basket. I just back-rimmed it."

Casey said it was too soon to put a timetable on Valanciunas' return. Valanciunas is expected to see a hand specialist over the weekend, but no appointment had been scheduled following the game.

Drafted fifth overall in 2011, Valanciunas played in Lithuania last season before joining the Raptors. He came in averaging 8.1 points and 5.4 rebounds and had started all 28 games to date.

The Magic had 18 turnovers, leading to 17 Toronto points.

"We were trying to be aggressive and did some different things offensively," Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said. "They did a good job of trapping our pick-and-roll at times."

Orlando rookie Andrew Nicholson made his first career start in place of co-leading scorer Glen Davis, who'll be sidelined four to six weeks after injuring his left shoulder in Wednesday's victory over Washington.

Redick said Davis' absence was felt most in the final quarter, because it forced the Magic to alter their regular finishing lineup.

"What hurt was not being able to go to the lineup that we're comfortable playing with," Redick said.

Nicholson's opening basket at 9:37 of the first was Orlando's only lead of the game.

Toronto led 20-15 after one, the fewest points it has allowed in the first quarter this season.

Ross scored six points in the second but Afflalo had seven for the Magic, who cut it to 42-39 at the half.

DeRozan scored six points in the third, including a jumper during Toronto's 7-0 run over the final 1:23 that gave the Raptors a 71-62 lead heading into the fourth.

NOTES: Toronto held its opponent below 100 points for a season-high seventh straight game. ... Toronto's next game is Dec. 26 at San Antonio. ... Afflalo went 9 for 9 from the free throw line. ... Amir Johnson played for the first time since shaving the Raptors logo into the hair on the back of his head.

Notebook: Raptors 93, Magic 90

Duane Watson, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:24 PM - Updated Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:44 PM

THE FACTS: The Toronto Raptors (9-19) defeated the Orlando Magic (12-14) 93-90 on Friday night, for their fifth win in a row. The last time the Raptors won five consecutive games was January 22-31, 2010. They've won their last four at home and are now 7-5 at the Air Canada Centre. DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 17 points and eight rebounds, Jose Calderon added 13 points and nine assists. Again, the Raptors bench stepped up, scoring more than half of the team points and outscoring the Magic bench 50-33. Toronto reserves Terrence Ross had 13, while Alan Anderson and Amir Johnson both added 10 points each.

After shooting .292 from the field in the second quarter, the Raptors held onto a 42-39 point lead going into halftime. Trading baskets through the better part of the third, Toronto pulled away with a 13-4 run to close the quarter 71-62. The Raptors broke away with under seven minutes in the fourth quarter going on a 7-2 run. Ross scored five of those points with a 3-point shot and a break away steal on the ensuing possession, which he converted into a fast break windmill dunk evening the Raptors biggest lead of the game at 11 with at 87-76. The Magic didn't lie down, making a 10-2 run to close out the game, making it 93-90 but couldn't get the much needed three points, as Ross came away with a steal with .4 seconds on the clock.

Playing without injured forward Glen Davis, the Magic were led by Arron Afflalo's game-high 26 points and five assists, while Nikola Vucevic had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, Gustavo Ayon also had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "We're 9-19 there's no overconfidence in that room. We still have a lot of work to do with Jonas Valanciunas going down with a broken, but we're not satisfied. We're still a work in progress, we're happy with five in a row, but we haven't gone anywhere."
-- Raptors Head Coach Dwane Casey on the five-game win streak.

THE STAT: Despite the Raptors shooting a poor .407 (33-81) percent from the field, they managed to come out on top. Ironically, they shot better from the 3-point line at .421 percent (8-19). Orlando shot better at .500 percent, from a numbers standpoint, the Magic should've won this game.

TURNING POINT: With 6:16 left in the fourth quarter, Ross made a 26" 3-point shot and on Orlando's ensuing possession stole the ball for a dunk. The back-to-back plays matched the team's biggest lead of the game of 11 at 87-76. Despite the Raptors squandering the lead down the stretch, they never relinquished it.

HOT: Ross shined in the fourth quarter the rookie came alive with seven points, including 5 during a Raptors a 9-2 run, which included a 3-pointer, followed by a steal and a spectacular fast break dunk. He finished the game with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting and went 3-for-5 from the 3-point line.

NOT: With Magic starting power forward Davis out due to injury, rookie Andrew Nicholson got the start tonight. However, the Toronto native, didn't fare to well in his first career start shooting 3-for-10 from the field with 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 turnovers.

GOOD MOVE: Afflalo locked up DeRozan for most of the night holding him to 17 points on 5-for-17 shooting from the field. Most of DeRozan's points came while Afflalo was on the bench, while he made him work on the defensive end going for 26 points.

BAD MOVE: Bad judgment and back-to-back offensive fouls by Johnson and Anderson in the last 1:30 of play during a Magic 10-2 stretch to close the game, kept the Magic in it.

NOTABLE: Toronto has held opponents under 100 points in a season-high seven straight games since December 10. The Raptors are 9-6 when holding teams under the century mark. Jonas Valanciunas left the game in the first quarter with a fractured metacarpal on his right ring finger and didn't return. The Raptors were without starters Andrea Bargnani and Kyle Lowry, who have both missed four straight. Toronto has won two in a row against Orlando, after a 97-86 on November 18 at the Air Canada Centre.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors; Wednesday @ San Antonio, Friday @ New Orleans, Saturday @ Orlando. For the Magic; Sunday vs. Utah, Wednesday vs. New Orleans and Friday @ Washington.

• Magic: Harrington, Turkoglu
• Raptors: Bargnani, Lowry

• Magic: Redick
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #33 Sean Corbin, #68 Marat Kogut
• Attendance: 18391
• Duration: 2:15