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PHOENIX – As a big brother who finally decided that he was tired of thinking about his younger brother or sister that they might well be carrying this time, the Toronto Raptors finally bent their muscles in the second half facing the Phoenix Suns host. the result was consistent with big brother little brother fights since the beginning of time.
The Raptors were trained early and half to half but they opened their four-game swing on the West Coast by taking them out. The success of their 107-98 victory was fully compiled in the second half as they struggled to hit a shot, it seemed at first, and often did not seem too upset if the Suns hit theirs.
All this changed as Toronto prepared its defense in the middle of the third quarter and the fourth quarter, and the offensive followed.
"[There was] no screams or screams, "said Raptor guard Fred VanVleet about the rebounding Raptors after the intermission. "But there were things we had to talk about, was not it? It was a collective, 'Gather our stuff and tighten our bonds. Here's how we can be better in the second half and go and run. "
Kawhi Leonard led Toronto with 19 points on 14 shots while adding six rebounds and five assists. He left the game two minutes from the end, after appearing to have done something to his left foot, but said it was not bothering him later.
"I think everything will be fine, nothing major," he said. "I just pushed and roll and I wanted to watch him."
Kyle Lowry had 11 rebounds and 12 assists, allowing Damon Stoudemire to play two consecutive games with double-digit passes six times. The Raptors fired 50.6 percent of the ground and were 12-of-33 after hitting six of their last 10 games after firing four of 17 goals in the first half. They fired on the Suns at 44%, blocked 10 shots and seized 11 interceptions.
The Raptors finally seemed to accept that they were not going to shoot the ball well enough to get away comfortably in the night. So they decided to lock it defensively, as few teams – he starts to appear – can do it.
In three minutes, the Raptors forced the Suns to weaken and beat three by the Devine Booker of the Suns. Otherwise, the Suns had to face a series of blocks and deflections leading to three turnovers while the Raptors did not let them try their luck, much less score.
Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, OG Anunoby, Serge Ibaka and Kawhi Leonard were upstairs, although others filtered through. By the end of the quarter, the Suns had been maintained at 19 points, including six of three at prayer, while Toronto forced the Suns to shoot 8 shots for quarter and 77-71 in the fourth.
"I think that by building here, it's a late defense in the third and fourth quarters where we really want to strengthen our potential and do what we can do with the most energy and the greatest possible concentration, "said Raptors head coach Nick. Nurse. "And we want to be strong until we get to those points.
"We're having consecutive stops and I think we've had a series of nine consecutive saves tonight and once we've gone into that mode, we're starting to continue as before and from there.
VanVleet, in his first action for four games missing with a big toe tight, made his presence felt. He opened the fourth quarter with a three, stole the ball halfway through and scored deep. He then plunged the ball down the track before finding Norm Powell for a fully open three that allowed the Raptors to lead 91-75.
Then, C.J. Miles added a pair of triples as part of a quick race to 20-8. Even better for Nurse, some of the best players on his team came from the sideline unit that had struggled a bit against their standards at first, but found his spark with the return of VanVleet, who scored eight points and six passes in 20 minutes.
"I think it was probably our best race as a bench unit [all season]Said VanVleet. "It's going to take a while to determine the rotations, who's playing and who's going out, I think Nick let us go for a while and obviously we won that with the way we played, but he left us we have managed to get ahead and get things done. "
That was dominant and it improved the Raptors' record to an 8-1 franchise record as they head to Los Angeles where they will face LeBron James and the Lakers on Sunday, where the eyes of the entire NBA will turn to them.
Heading west can mean sailing through a house of horrors. This time, it's the Raptors that should inspire fear.
For them, it's a chance for some teams to build up in warm weather and continue to prove that they have a team that – even at these beginnings – can do significant damage to both sides of the ball, as in the second half time in Phoenix. One might think that the more time they have together, the better they are.
"Cohesion, being together, eating together, doing things together, traveling all the time together, being on the bus together, doing all that stuff," said Lowry about his hopes for the trip. "Just be one with the other. It's the part you get to be on the road. "
The Suns are a team that might be one day, but that day is not at hand. Even with lottery picks – this will be their ninth consecutive season, chances are – they remain a team in full change.
This year, a year ago, they sent their head coach back to three games of the season. They then let out interim head coach Jay Triano in favor of rookie head coach Igor Kokoskov, then dismissed the managing director who hired him before the start of the race. season. The first European coach in NBA history does not seem to have slept in a week.
There are pieces, but the puzzle seems to have been swept for the moment by the table. The Suns are young at the base, built around Booker, 22, and Deandre Ayton, a 20-year-old agile, agile Bahamian seven-foot-one who was the first pick in the draft in June.
Ayton arrived as announced while he finished with 17 points and 18 rebounds. His star game was a stunning reversal of Jonas Valanciunas's basic storyline. Booker, in his first game after missing three with a hamstring, needed 20 shots to get 18 points.
They play fast – like everyone else in the NBA today – and they play loose as their 18 game losses could indicate. And like any young team, defense is a work in progress since it ranks 28th in the NBA in this category.
At first, it was the Raptors that failed. Lowry did his best to roll his steam. He created points from nothing as he was crossing the paint to grab an offensive rebound that turned into an easy dunk for Valanciunas who debuted for the second time this season against Serge Ibaka.
Later, after Danny Green missed a quick break – Toronto blew two – that's Lowry, who played his 800th career game, who stole the ball after the Suns rebounded. and launched for a green three.
But even with these swing games, Toronto seemed clumsy. In the first quarter, they fired only 41% against the porous Suns defense and, although they forced six turnovers, they were led 28-23.
Leonard, who was making his season debut, was as guilty as anyone, but he began to find his way in the middle of the second quarter, while Lowry found him for the quick jump in the lane and he was income with an open three. He managed two more times to get to the rim, finally giving the Raptors a 46-45 lead with 1:55 to play after Isaiah Canaan, one meter ninety, made the mistake of want to put his body on him.
The Suns, however, finished the half with a 7-2 record, leaving Toronto with work to do.
When it mattered, they did it.
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