Quick Hits:
- Before the game Shavlik Randolph was trying to convince Michael Beasley that J.J. Redick’s rap style was similar to Nas. Sorry, but I’m not buying the comparison.
- Chris Bosh did a fantastic job attacking Jermaine O’Neal and Joel Anthony early and often tonight. The Raptors were running a ton of isolation plays for Bosh in the first half and he was attacking both big men off the dribble and pulling up for jumpers. This resulted in Bosh scoring 17 points while snagging 6 boards in the first half before finishing with 29 points and 12 boards.
- Early in the first quarter Heir Canada took threw down a nasty dunk on James Jones. DeMar DeRozan beat his man baseline and when he went up for the alley-oop he was hacked yet still threw down a dunk that woke up an otherwise sleepy crowd at the Air Canada Centre.
- Speaking of waking up the fans, Pops Mensah-Bonsu got one of the loudest cheers of the night when he entered the game at the 4:33 mark of the first quarter. The crowd went nuts again later in the quarter Mensah-Bonsu swatted a field goal attempt by Dwyane Wade.
- Toronto went on an 11-6 run to open up the second quarter. Miami wasn’t able to slow things down as Toronto out-scored Miami 43-25 in the second quarter.
- Michael Beasley beat Chris Bosh off the dribble on consecutive possession early in the second quarter. On the first possession he threw down a dunk and on the second Bosh committed a foul. Beasley had a monster game on the offensive end tonight as he finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
- 69 points by the Toronto in the first half is their their highest scoring output for a half this season. Throw in the fact they held Miami to 41% shooting from the field and it was an impressive first half by the Raptors.
- Aside from some early foul trouble (3 fouls in 7 minutes), Amir Johnson he had a solid first half with 9 points (4-4 from the field) and 3 rebounds in just seven minutes of burn.
- Toronto’s bench outscored Miami’s 22-6 in the first half and finished the game with a 36-10 advantage.
- Jermaine O’Neal pulled his teammates aside before the start of the second half for a players only meeting. I have no clue what he said but it seemed to work as Miami outscored Toronto 34-18 run in the third quarter to pull to within six points.
- Something that impressed me tonight was Bargnani is starting to show a nasty streak. Against Utah he snagged 11 boards and tonight he followed that up with his second consecutive double-double (24 points and 10 rebounds) while getting a little grimy. One play that stood out came in the first half when he slashed through the lane to throw down a nasty dunk in the mugs of Beasley and O’Neal – all while drawing a foul on Beasley.
- A huge reason why Toronto was able to weather the storm by Miami in the second half was the clutch shooting of Jarrett Jack in the fourth quarter. Jack entered the game mired in a bit of a shooting slump but he showed no signs of that in the fourth as he went 3-6 from the field, 2-3 from beyond the arc and 4-4 from the charity stripe while scoring 12 of his 17 points.
- Look for exclusive interviews with Joel Anthony, Daequan Cook and Pops Mensah-Bonsu to be up on Hoops Addict over the next few days.
They Said It:
Before the game Erik Spoelstra talked with the media about the 2003 NBA Draft class, how close Miami was to drafting Chris Bosh and how competitive the entire draft class is with each other:
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Spoelstra also talked about what he’s looking for from Michael Beasley on the defensive end this season:
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Something that worried Raptors’ fans this summer was a “close friend in Miami” telling the media that Chris Bosh was interested in playing for Miami. After the game Bosh squashed this rumour:
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Bosh also talked about how the teams defense is showing slow and steady improvement:
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Jay Triano talked about the importance of having three ball handlers on the court at the end of the game and Jack’s clutch shooting in the fourth quarter:
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By The Numbers:
0 – Number of three-pointer’s both teams combined to make in the first quarter. They finished the game with a combined 16 made three-pointers.
1 – Minutes it took for Amir Johnson to pick up his first two fouls of the game.
3 – Number of assists Toronto had as a team in the third quarter.
8 – Hedo Turkoglu had a season-high 8 assists.
12 – Jarrett Jack scored 12 points in the fourth quarter.
14 – Toronto tied a franchise record with 14 assists in the second quarter.
54 – Number of points Bargnani and Bosh combined for.
rashad on Sat, 21st Nov 2009 1:23 am
Good stuff Ryan. Especially on Beasley
Ryan McNeill on Sat, 21st Nov 2009 11:57 am
Thanks! I was surprised Spoelstra talked so willingly about Beasley’s defense and the 2003 NBA Draft class. I was impressed Bosh stepped up and squashed the rumours of a “close friend” telling the media he’s signing with Miami.