The Raptors promising 3-0 start has quickly diminished to a 3-2 record as the Atlanta Hawks remain unbeaten. Despite Josh Smith getting injured in the first quarter and not returning, the Hawks dominated play throughout the game and received little defensive resistance from the Raptors. At the forefront of the Hawks charge were Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson. Bibby, a classic Raptor killer, provided 19 points and 12 assists, while Johnson added 17 points. 7 rebounds and 6 assists. The words of Sam Mitchell say it all: "There was just nothing we could do to stop them. We just couldn’t guard them tonight. Almost everybody was off. It happens.”
NBA.com Recap
Player of the game:
Chris Bosh - 26 points, 8 rebounds in 38 minutes. Bosh also got to the line 12 times, which is a great number. However Bosh had an uncharacteristic 0 assists.
Notables:
Jermaine O'Neal - 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocked shots in 30 minutes. Hopefully his early season jitters are gone and we will see this type of production more this season from Jermaine. Also, his three blocks were a nice aspect of the night. A step in the right direction, however Jermaine did not grab any offensive boards.
Jason Kapono - 14 ponts, 3 rebounds, 3 assists in 30 minutes. Jason showed that he was not afraid to shoot tonight, taking 15 shots. And with his ability, why not take 15 shots a game? It is nice to see some bench scoring that is not Andrea Bargnani.
Jose Calderon - 6 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds in 36 minutes. A very uncharacteristic 2-10 shooting night for Jose. No doubt he will bounce back though.
Full box score
Stat of the game:
The Raptors were simply outworked tonight. Yet again the worst rebounding team in the league did not dissapoint last night, as they were minus 9 on the boards. Furthermore, the speedy Hawks were able to get out and run, leading to 18 fast break points. The Raptors only had 3.
The Raptors will look to rebound (yes, that is a pun) Sunday in Charlotte against the 2-3 Bobcats.
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1 comment:
Ow, they really stunk up the joint last night. Every time I turned around, they were coughing up the rock. This is - excuse the reference - looking a lot like Toronto mediocrity of the type we have come to expect from a local baseball team. I would love to see one team from TO rise consistently above that standard. Three game winning streaks followed by similar length losing streaks do not a playoff season make. Get your heads in the game, boys! Every game counts!
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