Raptors-Magic Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 24 2013 12:16AM

Mired in a lengthy losing stretch, the Orlando Magic can't be happy to see the Toronto Raptors again.

Defensively challenged Orlando tries to avoid a four-game season sweep at the hands of visiting Toronto on Thursday night.

The Magic (14-27) haven't been able to slow anyone down of late, allowing 106.2 points per game - 7.3 more than their season mark - during a 2-14 skid.

Two of those losses came against the Raptors (15-27), who pulled out a 93-90 home win Dec. 21 before cruising to a 123-88 rout at Amway Center eight days later. DeMar DeRozan scored 21 and Jose Calderon had 15 points and 10 assists in that most recent matchup as Toronto shot a season-high 56.1 percent.

The Raptors also won 97-86 on Nov. 18, snapping a three-game skid in the series. Their only season sweep of Orlando came in 2006-07.

"They've been pretty tough for us," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "They made shots last time here in our building, and that kind of snowballed in their favor. We have to control their guards, keep them out of the paint, and also be able to contests shots. We got our work cut out."

The Magic suffered their third straight defeat Tuesday, 105-90 at Detroit. J.J. Redick scored 26 but Orlando was outrebounded 54-41 and only forced eight turnovers, dropping to 1-14 when creating 10 or fewer.

The Magic, who are last in the league with 489 forced turnovers, have created a combined 27 against Toronto this season.

"You have to take ownership, and in order to take ownership, you have to play harder and hold each other accountable," Redick said. "We, as a group, need to play harder and that's really on the defense end. We've harped on it now for a few weeks, we're having issues on that end. I don't think it's the schemes, I think it's just doing everything a little bit harder and trusting each other."

While it's been a disappointing first half for Orlando, Vaughn is trying to stay positive with 41 games still to come.

"I don't think any player on this team wants to lose basketball games, and our approach has always been if we continue to work hard, success will come," he said. "It's a long season, and it's filled with it ebbs and flows. It's a matter of having a will to get through those ebbs and flows, and staying together through it.

"This group's done that. It wasn't our best effort in Detroit - I think we would all concur - but the great thing is the NBA presents another opportunity."

After beating the Los Angeles Lakers 108-103 to snap a four-game skid Sunday, the Raptors couldn't keep up three nights later in a 123-116 overtime loss at Miami. Alan Anderson had 20 points off the bench to lead seven players in double figures but Toronto, which has seen three of its last four games go to OT, lost the rebounding battle 53-28.

"We've been competing against everybody," said Calderon, who made a season-high five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. "We're playing much better. We're sharing the ball. We can compete against everybody. We've got to compete every night. ... When we play as a team, we're good. We don't have LeBron James."

The Raptors are 4-18 on the road, where they're allowing 104.1 points to rank near the bottom of the league.

DeRozan lifts Raptors over Magic at buzzer, 97-95

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Jan 24 2013 11:06PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey believes the next step for his team is to work on developing its identity, preferably one seeded in toughness.

He's hoping a four-game season sweep of the Magic can serve as the first step in that mission.

After watching one of their best efforts of the season slip away the night before in an overtime loss at Miami, the Raptors fought off a late Orlando charge and got a fadeaway jumper from DeMar DeRozan at the buzzer to secure a 97-95 victory over the Magic on Thursday night.

DeRozan led Toronto with 22 points, followed by Amir Johnson's 21 points and 10 rebounds. It was Johnson's sixth double-double of the season.

The sweep was the Raptors' first over Orlando since 2006-07.

"The coaches drew up a good play," said DeRozan, who scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, missing just one of his eight shots in the final 12 minutes. "I just tried to get to my shot. Usually we run it going to my right, but that was the first time we ran it going to my left.

"I knew if I got a good shot off, I had a chance at it going in."

Pumping his fist along with DeRozan after the shot went through, Casey said later that he got the response he was looking for from his team.

"I did, I really did," Casey said. "Down the stretch everybody's questioned our toughness and how tough we are. I've seen resolve and toughness the last couple of weeks. And for anybody who doesn't feel like we're in this to win it, they are totally wrong."

It was a wild offensive night, featuring 12 lead changes, 12 players reaching double figures and several big baskets on both ends.

But for the Magic, it clearly was not the perfect way to begin the second half of their season.

They dropped their fourth game in a row and have now lost 15 of their last 17 overall. They've also lost eight straight games to teams with losing records.

Nikola Vucevic led Orlando with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Arron Afflalo added 16 points and Glen Davis finished with 15.

"I just think the basketball gods are against us right now," guard J.J. Redick said. "They've turned their backs on us. We need to get back in their good graces. Tonight was a first step, if a loss can be a step in the right direction, because we competed the whole game."

After three of their previous four games went to overtime, the Raptors found themselves in another close one.

Offense went through the center position for most of the night, with Vucevic and Johnson as the go-to options. Then, the guards took over.

The Raptors carved out a 75-66 lead entering the final period, taking advantage of 12 Magic turnovers in the first three quarters.

Davis skied for a rebound and found a cutting Jameer Nelson for a layup to cap a 14-4 run and give the Magic their only lead of the second half, 84-83, with 5:19 to play in the game.

Defense tightened but the Magic committed only two turnovers the rest of the way.

One of them, a five-second count as they tried to throw the ball in, was followed by a jumper by DeRozan and layup by Alan Anderson that stretched the Raptors' advantage to 91-86.

The Magic then got a little lucky when Redick was fouled on a 3-point make and completed a four-point play to tie it at 93-all with just 53 seconds remaining.

DeRozan hit a step-back jumper on the other end to put Toronto back in front, but that was quickly answered by a short jumper off a rebound by E'Twuan Moore to tie it back up.

The Raptors ran the clock down to under 10 seconds before Davis reached in and fouled Johnson, leaving Toronto with just 4.3 seconds, and setting up DeRozan's game-winner.

"I thought there were multiple times throughout the course of the game where we got multiple stops in a row and that's what we want to focus on, is being able to get stops on demand," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "That's the basketball we need to see every night."

In what was a pretty even first half that featured 10 lead changes, the Raptors took a one-point lead into the locker room. Vucevic and Johnson carried their teams with 14 points apiece in the half.

Vucevic lived around the rim, getting several baskets off put backs and tip-ins. Johnson scored from all over after being ignited by an early dunk.

Casey said he hopes his team feels the excitement that followed him off the court on Thursday.

"These guys are competing their butts off, have been every game," he said. "Whether it's my fault, or whoever's fault it is, they have been competing. That's one thing you can't question.

"They're competing to win and tonight's another example."

Notes: The Raptors earned just their fifth win on the road this season. ...Davis received his fourth technical of the season late in the first quarter. ...The Magic fell to 1-15 when forcing 10 or fewer turnovers this season.

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Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower.

Notebook: Raptors 97, Magic 95

Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com
Posted Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:30 PM - Updated Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:30 PM

THE FACTS: DeMar DeRozan scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, including a fadeaway 22-footer at the buzzer, to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 97-95 victory over the Orlando Magic.

DeRozan's game-winning shot kept the Raptors from going into overtime for the fourth time in five games and completed a four-game season sweep of the Magic, who have lost 15 of their last 17 games.

After leading for most of the game, the Raptors found themselves tied at 95-95 when E'Twaun Moore scored on an offensive rebound for the Magic with 20.9 seconds left. Toronto set up a play for DeRozan, but the Magic defense forced him toward the corner where he launched a shot over Glen Davis.

Nik Vucevic led six Magic scorers in double figures with 19 points and also took down a game-high 14 rebounds.

Amir Johnson had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto.

QUOTABLE: "It seems like we are always in that situation every night. We just learn from it, and we have to be patient and stay focused."
-- DeRozan.

QUOTABLE II: "I was actually guarding him. They set a screen, we switched it. I figured he didn't have enough time to pass so the shot was the play . . . Both teams made good plays down the stretch. They just got the last one."
-- Magic forward Arron Afflalo.

THE STAT: When opponents commit 10 or fewer turnovers against them, the Magic are 1-15. The Raptors committed 10.

TURNING POINT: Jameer Nelson's layup with 5:25 remaining had given the Magic their only lead of the second half, 84-83. But after a timeout, Alan Anderson regained the lead for the Raptors with an easy layup and Terrence Ross followed with a long jumper.

HOT: DeRozan made 7-of-8 shots in the fourth quarter on six jump shots and a dunk.

NOT: Nelson, who had 14 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and three steals, shot only 5-for-13 and Redick shot 4-for-11.

QUOTABLE III: "I just think the basketball gods are against us right now. They've turned their backs on us. We need to get back on their good graces."
-- Redick.

GOOD MOVE: During their final timeout with 4.3 seconds left, the Raptors decided to go with their hot hand -- DeRozan.

BAD MOVE: With the Raptors up by four, Ross left J.J. Redick open for a 3-pointer, then fouled Redick on the shot. The four-point play tied the game with 53.1 seconds left.

IN THE ARENA: British golfer and Ryder Cup champion Ian Poulter attended the game with his son.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: In his seven starts for the Raptors, the 6-foot-9 Johnson averages 17 points and 9.1 rebounds.

ROOKIE WATCH: Ross came off the Toronto bench for 10 points in 23 1/2 minutes . . . Magic rookies Mo Harkless and Andrew Nicholson produced two points in a combined 20 minutes. They came on a spectacular dunk by Harkless.

NOTABLE: The Magic have lost eight straight against losing teams . . . If DeRozan's final shot had missed, the Raptors would have gone into overtime for the fourth time in nine days.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors: Saturday vs. Cleveland, Monday vs. Golden State, Wednesday @ Atlanta. For the Magic: Sunday vs. Detroit, Monday @ Brooklyn, Wednesday @ New York.

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

• Raptors: --
• Magic: Davis

• Lead Changes: 12
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #36 David Jones, #7 Kevin Fehr, #20 Leroy Richardson
• Attendance: 17145
• Duration: 2:11