TORONTO – Defense has long been the cornerstone of the Toronto Raptors’ success, but lately a solid defensive effort had been inexplicably missed.
But playing a stifling defense from Sunday’s first tip, the Raptors posted a 102-90 win over the Washington Wizards for their second straight victory.
Pascal Siakam scored 17 of his 31 points in a key second quarter, while Chris Boucher had 14 points to lead an excellent performance from the bench.
When asked why the defense has been so noticeably better in the last two games, Boucher said, laughing: “That’s all we do in practice.
“The last practice we had, after losing a game, I think we just didn’t show up, I think against Boston and Memphis as well, since then all we do is defend.”
Scottie Barnes scored 11 points for the Raptors (11-13), who avenged their loss to Washington on opening night. Precious Achiuwa had 10 points and a total of 14 rebounds, while Fred VanVleet finished with 10 points in Toronto’s fourth win in their last 11 games.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Washington (14-10) with 26 points.
The Raptors bench, which has been a weak point this season, provided a great spark, beating Washington’s bench 34-28.
“I thought that group that started set the tone, but I also thought that the guys that came off the bench brought the same kind of energy and maybe even a little more,” said coach Nick Nurse. “This is how we hope it will look. It was a good team effort in all aspects on defense. “
Nurse called rookie Dalano Banton’s performance “impressive.” He praised Boucher, who had a rocky start to the season and found himself almost out of Nurse’s rotation. On Sunday, Banton found a Boucher cutting several times for baskets.
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Boucher attributed his improvement by watching movies and meditating.
“A lot of people are upset with my game, which I understand, but I do a lot of mental work to figure out what it is, eventually you find it, eventually you know what to do,” said the Montreal native. “I am realizing the role that I have here, I take what I can get and do the best with it.”
Boucher said he does “a lot of meditation” but only started doing it before the game at the suggestion of Raptors therapist Ray Chow.
“Ray told me that he felt like when I was playing there are so many things on my mind,” Boucher said. “So, I did a little meditation today, and that really helped me. Getting into the game fluently and knowing that I am capable of doing certain things and having confidence in it. “
The Wizards, who beat Toronto on opening night to ruin the Raptors’ first game in Toronto in 600 days, came fourth in the Eastern Conference on Sunday and are looking to bounce back from a 15-point loss to Cleveland two nights earlier.
Toronto was fresh off a four-point win over Milwaukee on Friday, and they clung to the win with one of the best defensive efforts this season.
Their momentum lasted until Sunday when the Raptors built a 25-point lead in the first half, stifling the Wizards on the defensive end. Siakam shot a perfect 7-for-7 in a second quarter in which the Raptors contributed 40 points, a season-high for a quarter.
“We don’t have a seven-footer, but we have guys who can do various things and are excellent on defense,” Siakam said. “We have to work hard every night.”
Leading 84-68 to start the quarter, the Wizards reduced the gap to 12 points midway through the quarter, but Washington did not threaten again, and when Achiuwa landed an offensive rebound and drove to the basket for a dunk, swinging from the rim Until the roar of 19,800 at Scotiabank Arena, the Raptors were back up by 16 points with 4:15 to play.
With a game Monday at Indiana, the Wizards threw in the figurative towel and emptied the bench with about three minutes to play. Nurse did the same with 1:30 to play and the game well controlled. It was the first time the Raptors won back-to-back games since a five-game winning streak from October 27 to November 3.
The Raptors, who have three games to continue in this season-high seven-game home run, remain without the outfield presence of OG Anunoby, who missed his ninth straight game with a hip injury. , and Khem Birch, who missed his fifth straight game and ninth this season with a swollen knee. There is no timeline for the return of any of the players.
The annoying Raptors limited Washington to just a dozen points in the first quarter. On the offensive end, six players scored, Gary Trent Jr. had a pair of 3s and Toronto had zero turnovers for a 23-12 lead at the start of the second.
Siakam couldn’t miss in the second, and his triple with 4:59 left earned the Raptors 25 points. Toronto took a 63-42 lead at halftime.
The Raptors spluttered in the third. They struggled to contain Caldwell-Pope, who scored 10 in the fourth, and allowed the Wizards to come back to 12 points.
The night marked the eighth annual African Giants game in celebration of the life of Nelson Mandela. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was present.
The Raptors host Oklahoma City on Wednesday. On Friday, the Memphis Grizzlies dropped the Thunder 152-79, breaking the NBA record for the largest margin of victory.
This Canadian Press report was first published on December 5, 2021.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca