Raptors Make It LooK Better Than It Was In Denver

The Toronto Raptors headed into Denver a place where they rarely find victory. The last time the Raptors got a win in Denver was back in 2003 as we mentioned on This Week In Raptorland. The first three quarters of this basketball game were painful to watch. The Raptors actually did start turning tide late in the third by imploring a hack a  McGee strategy. It was about the only way the Raptors could control pace of this game.

The Raptors trailed at the half by 17 points in this game. Not that it would have made a difference but Linas Kleiza sat this one out. That gave Mickael Pietrus the start, he played 25 minutes and went 1-5 from the field with 3 points and a steal.

There were some positives on the night despite the terrible first half. Kyle Lowry looked back to the pre-injury version of his self. He was the only Raptor that was finding a way to get the line in this one going 11-11 from the line. On the night he got 24 points and had his 6-foot size he had 3 blocks.

The Raptors after doing a heck of a job convincing folks they had no chance in hell of winning this game. They would make their plucky underdog push in the fourth. Terrence Ross who has rapidly become a fan favourite made some big shots in this rally. Maybe it is that I have becoming jaded but I never once thought the Raptors would win this game.

In the end I sadly would be right. The Raptors would get as close as two points in this one before Denver woke up in the last couple minutes of this basketball game.

This is one of those games that summarizes the Raptor fan experience nicely. Some people at the end of this game were praising the Raptors run to make it close in the fourth. They did out score Denver 35-24 in the fourth quarter. However, it should not excuse the fact the Raptors got in this position to be there.

In the end this team has played many entertaining games over this season. I would not call this game one of them. However, regardless of entertainment value it has to start being about winning and losing. The Raptors in that regard are 4-14 and that is not acceptable.

In the end another close but no cigar doesn't cut it for me. The Nuggets take the win 113-110 but this game was close to three quarters of domination from the Nuggets.