Raptors stay unbeaten at Summer League, defence continues to shine
While it wasn’t quite as dominant as their Summer League opener, the Toronto Raptors improved to 2-0 in Las Vegas all the same.
The dinos did so thanks to a down-to-the-wire 89-86 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
Despite a less emphatic result than its 44-point win against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, Toronto’s process en route to victory was largely similar. The Raptors’ defence did much of the heavy lifting as they forced 29 turnovers for 44 points off those miscues to overcome a shaky offensive night that saw them shoot 42.2 per cent from the field and 30.8 per cent from beyond the arc.
That effort came just two nights after Toronto forced Chicago into a Summer League-record 33 turnovers as they cruised to the biggest margin of victory of any team in Vegas this year.
And although the Raptors as a whole weren’t as efficient on offence against the Magic as they were against the Bulls, A.J. Lawson most certainly was. The Brampton, Ont. native led the team in scoring for a second consecutive game, finishing with 21 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field while going 9-of-13 from the charity stripe in 24 minutes off the bench.
Lawson was also stout defensively as he added two steals and two blocks while finishing plus-12. The 24-year-old has made a strong case for the Raptors’ final roster spot thus far (he’s currently on a non-guaranteed deal for next season), averaging 21.5 points through two games while also being a noticeable positive presence on the other end as well.
He was one of five double-digit scorers for Toronto, as Ja’Kobe Walter and Jonathan Mogbo chipped in 16 and 12 points, respectively, and Ulrich Chomche and Jamal Shead scored 10 points apiece.
Meanwhile, ninth overall pick Collin Murray-Boyles made his much-anticipated Summer League debut after missing the Raptors opener due to a left adductor strain, getting the start Sunday in place of Mogbo. And while he began slowly, making just one of his first three shots (both misses coming from beyond the arc), he finished with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting to go with seven rebounds, three steals (tied with Chomche for a team high) and a block. He also finished with five turnovers and eight fouls (the Summer League limit per player is 10).
The rookie forward did get more comfortable as the game progressed, impacting the action on both ends of the floor more noticeably as he wreaked havoc with his disruptive hands. Murray-Boyles’ biggest moment came in the third quarter when he rotated from the weakside and pinned an Alondes Williams shot attempt against the backboard, then followed it up by hustling down the other end to jam in a putback off a Walter miss.
The first half of action on Sunday followed a similar script to the Raptors opener as they overcame a sluggish start — trailing by as many as 11 points through the opening 20 minutes — to lead 44-39 at the break. Toronto’s second quarter effort, while not dominant to the tune of winning the frame by 18 points like it did against Chicago, was still impressive as it outscored Orlando 24-13 thanks to 11 forced turnovers.
Unlike the Bulls, however, the Magic showed much more resilience in the second half, led largely by Jase Richardson. This year’s 25th overall pick scored 17 of his 19 points in the final 20 minutes as Orlando cut that five-point deficit down to 63-61 entering the final frame.
And while the fourth quarter was largely a back-and-forth affair, the Raptors kept the Magic at arms length by forcing nine more turnovers in the closing period — none more important than Lawson’s strip steal in the final minute of the game, as he corralled the loose ball and zipped up the court and got fouled while going up for a layup. He’d make the first of two free throws — even in Vegas, Toronto struggled to hit from the charity stripe, finishing 27-of-43 on Sunday (62.8 per cent) — to put the Raptors up by four as the Magic had to play the foul game from that point on and ultimately ran out of time.
It’s also worth noting that Toronto’s Summer League head coach James Wade went with a lineup of Shead, Walter, Lawson, Mogbo and Murray-Boyles for the final four minutes and the fivesome finished plus-four in that closing stretch en route to victory.
Key moment
While Lawson’s defence-to-offence sequence was undoubtedly important as a game-sealing play, another moment stood out as arguably more necessary for the Raptors’ victory.
After Williams hit a triple to tie up the ball game (79-79) — part of a 9-4 Magic run in the fourth quarter — momentum appeared to be shifting as the Raptors’ offence had sputtered. They missed nine of their first 15 shots in the final frame.
That was until Walter stepped up in a big way. He caught the ball in the left corner with less than three minutes to go, drove middle, rose just above the nail and drilled a 12-foot fading jumper through contact. His self-created and-one put the Raptors back up by three and they didn’t relinquish the lead after that.
How much the sophomore will get to leverage that iso-scoring juice this upcoming season is yet to be ascertained. Still, there’s one thing that’s already abundantly clear through his short time in the NBA: Walter is always good for some timely buckets against the Magic.
Who could forget his buzzer-beating game-winner toward the end of last season that stole victory from the jaws of defeat, much to the chagrin of Magic fans and Raptors tank-enthusiasts alike. But even before his clutch basket on Sunday, Walter also splashed a running one-legged triple to beat the first quarter horn as well.
Key stat
It goes without saying that the Raptors’ winning the turnover margin (plus-seven on Sunday) so handily stands as the major catalyst for their early Summer League success.
Raptors Republic’s very own Esfandiar Baraheni did an interview with Murray-Boyles for the NBA Athletic Daily, prior to Toronto’s win over Orlando, and the rookie mentioned how his effort on the defensive end is largely motivated by the fact that it helps as an “engine for offence.” A mindset that the Raptors as a whole have clearly embodied as they’ve leaned heavily on translating defence into offence for much of their scoring output thus far in Vegas.
Through two Summer League games, Toronto has forced a whopping 63 turnovers and scored 84 points on those extra possessions. That accounts for 41 per cent of the Raptors’ offensive production. The M.O. for this ball club moving forward is loud and clear, and so far, it’s been pretty darn effective.
Bonus stat: It’s worth noting that Alijah Martin did not have a repeat of his standout offensive showing from Friday — when he finished with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and was a game-high plus-36 — but was still plenty impactful. Despite scoring just two points against the Magic on 1-for-7 shooting from the field (0-for-5 from distance), this year’s No. 39 pick still led the team in plus-minus for a second consecutive game (plus-14 in 17 minutes). The Raptors are now a stellar plus-50 when Martin is on the floor during Summer League, a positive indicator for his rookie campaign that he can still find ways to contribute positively even if the jumper isn’t falling.
Up next
The Raptors’ chase for a Summer League championship continues on Tuesday when they look to improve to 3-0 as they take on the 0-2 Denver Nuggets.
While Toronto is one of 10 undefeated teams remaining at Summer League, it’s currently ranked second in the standings thanks to a plus-23.5 point differential, only behind the San Antonio Spurs by half a point and seven points ahead of the third-place Detroit Pistons.
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