That's right - the Raptors didn't get blown out. Unfortunately, Steve Blake hit a tremendous three with about nine seconds left to put the Blazers up one after Chris Bosh's jumper had the Raps up two. On the other end, Chris looked terribly uncomfortable and ended up throwing up a desperation floater from the baseline that unsurprisingly missed. This game probably lowered the Raptors' morale... if it can go any lower.
Player of the Game:
Jermaine O'Neal had his best game in a Raptors uniform thus far. He put up season highs in points (24 on 10-18 from the field and 4-4 from the line) and blocks with 6, and also added 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Hindsight is 20-20 but... we just don't understand why that final play wasn't drawn up for JO.
Notables:
Jose Calderon - 15 points (6-9 FG, 3-5 3FG), 13 assists, 2 turnovers. Jose was magnificent. No blame can fairly be placed on him.
Anthony Parker - 8 points (3-7 FG, 2-3 3FG), 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals. Excellent defensive game from AP, and guarded Roy quite effectively - Roy shot 6-16 for the game.
Joey Graham - 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-2 FT) and 2 rebounds. Good Joey showed up again! Graham looks more and more like a solid role player with each passing game, and had one monster driving dunk that might've been the play of the night.
Stat of the Game:
Portland had a plus-17 advantage on the boards, including 18 offensive rebounds (to Toronto's four). Folks, just can't win when you give up that many second- and third-chance points. It defeats players' confidence (especially seeing how often those points came after a block) and reduces your own team's ability to put together a run. Toronto has to get back to being competitive on the boards.
Next game: Tuesday, December 9th, 7:00 PM at Cleveland Cavaliers
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