Raptors Game Recap: Andrew Wiggins first game at the ACC

Wiggins and the Timberwolves pregame

Tonight, straight outa Vaughn's, Andrew Wiggins came to Toronto to face off against his hometown team the Toronto Raptors.   

Tipoff between Minnesota and Toronto

The Raptors started the game well taking a 15-11 lead with 6:28 left in the 1st quarter when Minnesota took their first timeout. Wiggins hit a tough layup as his first basket at the ACC but got his first points on free throws a few minutes earlier. Kevin Martin went on a tear scoring 18 points in the 1st quarter for the Timberwolves allowing Minnesota to lead 31-32 at the end of the quarter. 

Lowry hit a 3 pointer with just under 8:40 left to go in the 2nd quarter forcing Minnesota to call another timeout as they went back down 41-36. K-Mart was held to only 4 points in the 2nd and finished the half with 22 total and the score even at 54. 

Raptors took the lead back early in the 3rd going up 65-56 with 7:27 remaining in the quarter but with just under 5 minutes left in the 3rd Lowry went to locker room with a back contusion and did not return to the game. At the end of 3 quarters raptors led by 7, 82-75. 

Toronto's lead expanded to 8, 89-81 with 9:23 left in the game when Timberwolves called timeout hoping to make a final push. It worked well as they stormed back to be down by 2 with just 2 minutes to go but a tough DeMar jumper followed by steal and an outlet pass to Lou Williams on the fastbreak brought the lead back up to 6 with 1:30 remaining. 

The North made some noise!  

The Raptors held strong and won the game 105-100. The player of the game was Jonas Valanciunas who posted 15 points and 15 boards on 7/9 shooting from the field in the victory. 

Raptors vs Magic: Lowry continues to impress

On December 15, 2014 I had the pleasure of seeing the Toronto Raptors take on the Orlando Magic. The raptors started strong getting off to a 17-12 lead in the first 7 minutes and the Magic had to take a timeout after Landry fields made a behind the back pass to Amir Johnson who finished inside off a fast break. Raptors ended the first quarter up 28-23.

James johnson opened up the second quarter strong with a ferocious dunk but by the 8:44 mark the raptors had only extended their league to 4, 38-34. Magic went on a run to go up 44-42 with 3:50 left in the second and extended their lead to 8 at halftime as the Raptors trailed 52-44.

Toronto stormed back in the third quarter out scoring the Magic 27-13 highlighted by the killer crossover by Kyle Lowry to get Landry Fields open in the corner for 3.

The Raptors led 78-72 with 8:23 left in the 4th quarter and continued strong down the stretch as they went on to win 95-82. 

Raptors vs Mavericks: 20th Anniversary Night Round 2

Tonight, November 27, 2014, the Raptors faced off against the Dallas Mavericks at home in Toronto. This was the 2nd time Toronto celebrated their 20th anniversary this season by wearing the throwback purple jerseys. 

Raps and Mavs getting shots up before tip

Raptors and Mavericks on the tip at the ACC

The Raptors started the game strong with a 10-0 run in the first 3 minutes of the game but the Mavericks stormed back to take a 21-26 lead at the end of the first. Both teams scored 22 in the second quarter so the Raptors went into the locker room at halftime down by 5, 43-48. While the Mavs had a slight lead in rebounds at half, 2, the Raptors had an 5 assist lead, 13-8. 

The fans packed the ACC to see Raps vs Mavs

Midway through the third quarter Toronto's all star DeMar DeRozen slipped and fell hard while trying to drive on Nowitzki. Nothing malicious on the play DeMar simply slipped but he did not return to the game due to a groin strain. DeRozen is expected to miss some time due to the injury but hopefully he will be back on the court soon. He will recieve an MRI on Saturday. 

The Mavericks went on a run with DeMar out extending their lead to double digits but the Raptors were able to bring it withn 7 entering the 4th. 64-71. Dallas extended their lead to double digits once again but a hustle rebound and bucket by Amir Johnson had the Raptors down by 4 with just over 5 minutes to play. Monta Ellis wanted to change that however and did so in style scoring 7 straight points giving the Mavericks a 83-94 lead with 3:21 left in the game. A few possessions later Ellis intercepted an outlet pass and hit a wide open 3 pointer further extending Dallas' lead. Vasquez answered back with 2 clutch 3 pointers so the Raptors were only down 6 with a minute to go in the game. The Raptors fought valiantly in the final possessions especially Lowry who scored multiple layup before the buzzer sounded. The Raptors fell to the Dallas Mavericks 102-106. 

The cheerleaders are pretty cool, although they did their best to cover my Dallas' Nowitzki jersey. I was a bit of a conflicted fan for this game.  

Nowitzki jersey and Raptors cowboy hat are all the rage these days