Raps Pull It Out in Overtime - 112-108 Raptors

Tonight was a huge confidence booster for the Raptors. After a neck-and-neck game for much of the first four quarters, we found ourselves playing catchup in crunch time. When JO, who did not play well offensively, picked up his fifth foul and sat on the pine, Andrea Bargnani was called upon to play crucial minutes. Bargnani, who was already playing very aggressively, carried the Raps through the fourth and in overtime. He certainly played the best we've seen in a long time. In overtime, the Raptors scored the first eight points and played lockdown defense on the Warriors.

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Player of the Game:
Can't help but give it up for Il Mago tonight. After a poor offensive showing in the season opener (0 points on 0-4 shooting) despite decent defensive play (5 rebounds, 2 blocks) both Smitch and Andrea himself were unhappy with his play. But he stepped up big time last night, posting 19 points on blistering 8-10 (1-2 from three) from the field and 2-2 from the line. He also posted 5 boards, 3 blocks including two monster blocks on Al Harrington in OT, and perhaps most importantly, only committed one foul and had two turnovers in 31 minutes. He played like a number one pick, and that's all we can ask.

Notables:
Chris Bosh - probably had the best game overall, but Bargnani stepped up enough that he deserved the Player of the Game. Had 31 points (12-24FG, 7-10FT), 9 rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block in 42 minutes. Did have three turnovers, but when you have the ball in your hands as much as CB4, it's acceptable. The scariest part of his game: he started off very slowly, shooting 2-5 from the line and looking extremely uneasy against Harrington. And he still dropped 31.
Jose Calderon - absolutely dazzling play from Numero Ocho. In 43 minutes: 16 points (4-10 from the field, 0-1 from three, 8-8 from the line). 13 assists. 5 rebounds. And one turnover. Jose Calderon is an All-Star.
Anthony Parker - 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals in 41 minutes. Big game from AP, especially on defense. While it's not reasonable to expect production like this every night, he's definitely still capable of making big plays and scoring when he needs to.
Jermaine O'Neal - in a foul-plagued game, only 5 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. It's nice to see that he's active and using his body on defense even in foul trouble, and when Andrea plays like that backing him up, he can definitely be a force all the time in our end.

Stat of the Game:
The Raptors were plus-13 in free throw shooting (26-30 to 13-19). This certainly helps counteract Golden State's 11 threes, plus-10 in rebounding, plus-14 in points in the paint and plus-16 in field goal attempts.

Next game: Tonight, November 1st, at Milwaukee Bucks