MVN - Most Valuable Network

PG Play Carries Raptors to Game 3 Victory

The Raptors returned north of the border for Game 3, and this time it was Toronto that got the double-digit lead in the opening quarter, as the Raptors used a 16-4 run in the middle four minutes of the quarter to grab a 22-11 lead with 4 minutes left.  The story early on was the play of a trio of players who’ve struggled so far in the series, both T.J. Ford and Jamario Moon have not provided much of anything at all this series, especially Ford, but these two stepped up big, along with Anthony Parker, who struggled mightily in Game 2.  Moon added 8 points, while Ford and Parker added 7 points each, as the three combined to score 22 of the Raptors’ first 26 points.  Meanwhile, Dwight Howard kept the Magic in the game in the first quarter, scoring 13 of Orlando’s 20 first quarter points, as Toronto led 28-20 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Raptors again used the middle of the quarter to pull away from the Magic, as they held Orlando scoreless for a 3:45 span over the middle of the quarter.  The Raptors expanded their lead from 8 to 18 over this span, but the Magic cut it back down to 10 points with 2:52 left before halftime, as Dwight Howard scored his first points of the quarter on a little hook shot.  Then Ford would take over for the Raptors, scoring Toronto’s next 8 points and 11 of their final 16 points of the quarter, part of a 16-5 run that expanded their lead to 61-40 at the half.

The Magic would just cut away at the Toronto lead in the third quarter, cutting the lead down to 64-53 4:08 into the third quarter.  But the Raptors would answer immediately, going on an 11-2 run to push their lead to 20 points with 4:38 left in the third quarter.  The Magic would then chop down the lead again, closing the quarter on a 14-5 run as the Raptors cooled off from the field.

A Keith Bogans lay-up to start the fourth quarter would bring the deficit under double-digits for the first time since early in the second quarter, but that would be as close as the Magic would get.  The Raptors kept them at bay for most of the quarter, then used a 13-6 after Orlando got to within 11 points 3:52 into the fourth quarter, extending their lead to 100-82 with 3:21 left in the game.  The Raptors went on to take the 108-94 victory in a game that went pretty similar to the games in Orlando.

The story here was the point guard play, especially the very impressive play of Ford, who led the Raptors with 21 points while providing the offense, especially in the first half, where he scored 18 of his 21 points, as he keyed the run that pushed their lead back up to end the first half.

Jose Calderon was even more impressive though, scoring 18 points off the bench while adding 13 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds.  Jason Kapono also continued his impressive play off the bench, adding 15 points.  Tonight’s key was a more balanced scoring effort, as even though Chris Bosh had an underwhelming game (15 points, 5 rebounds and assists, 4 turnovers) it was still solid enough.  Moon added 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Parker added 10 points and 6 rebounds.

In Games 1 and 2 it was a lot more hit or miss with Toronto’s players, but the Raptors had more balanced scoring, with 6 players in double figures, not including Andrea Bargnani’s 9 points.

Another key was improved defense, as the Raptors did a good job limiting Orlando’s role players.  Beyond Hedo Turkoglu (26 points, 7 rebounds), Howard (19 points, 12 rebounds, 6 turnovers), and Rashard Lewis (19 points, 6 rebounds), the rest of the Magic scored only 30 points, with Bogans (12 points) and Keyon Dooling (8 points) providing the only scoring help off the bench.  Maurice Evans (0 points) and especially Jameer Nelson (6 points) were effectively limited tonight, which was the key.

Hopefully more of the same will come in Game 4, especially more of limiting the Magic’s role players, but a little more production from Bosh would be nice.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 10:24 pm and is filed under Chris Bosh, Pre and Post Game, Analysis, Toronto Raptors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.