Late Push Propels T.O.

It took awhile, but the Toronto Raptors finally got it rolling last night in the 4th quarter during their game vs the Los Angeles Clippers. They were victorious over the Clippers, 114-92, and with the win the Raptors move a whole game ahead of the Chicago Bulls and 2 games behind the Charlotte Bobcats in the Eastern Conference standings. Currently, the Raps are 8th in the East, with Chicago sitting at 9th and Charlotte at 7th. The decisive stretch in the game came during the final 2:46 of the 3rd quarter and the first 4:30 of the 4th, when Toronto limited L.A. to an unbelievably low 1 field goal in that time length. Before that, in the 3rd, they had traded six lead changes with the naughty Clippers before the opposition "hit the wall". In the 2nd half overall, the Raptors outscored the Clippers 66-39. The game-changer was undoubtedly All-Star Chris Bosh for the Raptors, of course. He finished with 34 points on a hot 12-15 shooting mark. Chris also picked up 11 rebounds and 3 blocks and he shone the brightest in the 3rd quarter. During that defensive-minded stretch in that period, he scored 7 straight points and changed a 1-point deficit into a 7-point lead. His points came at the rim and at the free-throw line. For the game, Bosh made 10-13 free throws. Another great Raptor was Sonny Weems. He scored 17 points on a perfect 8-8 clip and received 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Sonny was relentless all night long, with his points coming from mid-range and near the rim. According to head coach Jay Triano, "He works hard everyday in practice and gives us something we don’t have...he's earned a spot in a rotation and he's a valuable one for us." Some of the statistics for the game are: Toronto shooting a season-high 61%, Toronto scoring 24 points off 12 Clippers turnovers. L.A. meanwhile, only scored 12 points off of 12 Raptors turnovers. The Raptors also scored 56 points in the paint as opposed to just 30 for L.A. 2nd half scoring favoured Toronto: 66-39. Their record this year when holding opponents under 100 points is 21-1, with the only loss of that sort coming in their home game this year vs the Denver Nuggets. All in all, a monster game for the Raptors, especially in the final quarter. Here is the recap: Raptors vs Clippers 


Just a final update before I finish posting: the London Knights are playing tonight vs the Kitchener Rangers in their OHL Western Conference Semi-final round. Start time is at 7 PM and can be listened to on AM 1290 CJBK on the radio dial. Thanks, for reading, and have a happy night!