Quick Reaction: Magic 106, Raptors 107
| Orlando Magic | 106 | Final |
107 | Toronto Raptors |
A- | S. Mamukelashvili23 MIN, 13 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 5-10 FG, 0-3 3FG, 3-3 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Mamu cut well, got a nice put-back dunk in the early minutes of the game, and was an active sprinter in transition as well. he didn’t get back into the game late, but his contributions were huge for the team. | |
B- | S. Barnes37 MIN, 13 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 5-12 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -3 +/- Barnes triggered many fast breaks tonight as a result of his rebounding, but overall as a scorer he was not able to dominate in the paint against Orlando’s size. He had some uncharacteristically bad moments on defense tonight as well, but for the most part he was great on that end, and he stonewalled a lot of Orlando’s offense down the stretch. | |
D | I. Quickley25 MIN, 4 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 2-12 FG, 0-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -18 +/- Quickley was getting toyed with on defense, giving up constant penetration and missing rotations. He was completely ineffective on offense as well, as none of his triples were dropping, and none of his drives were leading to much either, he was benched down the stretch as a result of his poor play tonight. | |
C+ | B. Ingram34 MIN, 17 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 7-22 FG, 0-6 3FG, 3-4 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 8 +/- Ingram’s shot diet tonight was an eye sore, he forced up a bunch of tough turn around middy looks, and missed every single one of his triples. His defense was also extremely poor in all facets, he was losing his man, and getting overpowered on the ball. He did hit some timely shots tonight that aided the comeback, but overall this was a game he would like to forget. | |
B | O. Agbaji20 MIN, 10 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 7 +/- Agbaji was a nice well-rounded tertiary player today, he was in the dunker spot for a dunk early, and benefitted from some transition looks as well. | |
A | G. Dick15 MIN, 15 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3FG, 5-6 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -10 +/- Gradey was superb during his minutes tonight, he hit some tough threes, looked as good as he has all season attack off the dribble, and his off ball movement was well-timed and precise, he shockingly didn’t get much playing time in the second half. | |
A+ | J. Shead29 MIN, 19 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 8-15 FG, 3-6 3FG, 0-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 13 +/- Shead stepped up tonight, his energy was infectious and his shot-making was once again very strong. He usually has trouble finishing at the rim but today he turned on the jets time after time and found a way to get layups to fall over the trees. Shead closed the game tonight, and his pace and decision-making were key for Toronto to win this game. | |
A- | J. Walter24 MIN, 10 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 2-6 FG, 1-4 3FG, 5-6 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Walter’s defense down the stretch was very aggressive and necessary, he was hounding Magic handlers on the ball and he kept that energy going on offense. His effort got him many trips to the free throw line as well. | |
A | C. Murray-Boyles25 MIN, 4 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-6 FG, 1-2 3FG, 1-4 FT, 2 BLK, 2 TO, 18 +/- Returning from illness, it was a tough game to begin for CMB, and he definitely had a few looks that he would love to have back. His defense improved as the game went on and his rebounding and size were crucial down the stretch in order for Toronto to win this game. He kept Orlando from bullying on the glass, and even drew a few late fouls. | |
Inc | M. Bamba4 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -9 +/- Bamba didn’t play much in his debut, but he seemed pretty rusty and did not rebound or move well, hopefully with more reps he becomes more serviceable. | |
B+ | Darko Rajakovic Good call by Darko to leave Quickley on the bench as he was ice cold, and to keep the hot lineup in to close the game, but not finding more minutes for Gradey as he was playing his best game in months was confusing. | |
Things We Saw
- Jamal Shead increases the pace of this team so much, and when he is knocking down shots as well, it makes sense why he has the trust he does.
- This was the second gritty win for Toronto in a row, and they did it on a back-to-back, if that does not spell toughness then I don’t know what does.
Your next read: “Behind brilliant bench, Raptors steal game from Magic as Quickley is benched” by Louis
Ingram scrounged a few points, but he then got swatted at the rim, followed by him and Quickley missing alternating jumpers as Barnes grabbed a series of offensive rebounds. The Magic scored in transition after each miss. Murray-Boyles blocked a Desmond Bane layup through the molten core of the earth, but Quickley missed the ensuing transition triple to end the quarter. The Raptors kept on twisting the stick into the earth, hoping at some point it would spark a fire.
Eventually, it did. And it came, perhaps in a risky political move from Rajakovic, with Quickley on the bench for the closing minutes. He had been playing poorly, and the Raptors caught fire with him off.
“Immanuel wasn’t on the floor because Jamal was on instead of him,” explained Rajakovic, deadfaced, after the game. (Did I really need to ask?)
Walter hit a triple to go along with his defence. Barnes splashed one of his own. Shead drove for a game-tying layup. Ingram put them ahead moments later with a middy. And the defence remained fantastic. It had spent all game tightening, slowly clamping down and down, until in the fourth quarter it seized the Magic offence in a vice grip that didn’t relent. Walter locked all comers, including Paolo Banchero. Ingram swatted a shot as the helper. It was manic. The crowd pulsed and frothed. Murray-Boyles ate glass like Hobo with a Shotgun. Up one with six seconds left, Barnes defended a Banchero isolation and forced a miss.
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