Pistons-Raptors Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Feb 22 2012 1:47AM

In the midst of another losing streak, the Toronto Raptors know how important a win heading into the All-Star break would be.

The Raptors, however, could have a hard time getting back on track Wednesday night against the visiting Detroit Pistons, who have won three straight in this series.

Toronto (9-23), which dropped a season-worst eight straight Jan. 10-22, have lost four in a row and seven of eight overall. While three of those most recent losses came against likely playoff contenders, Friday's 98-91 defeat to NBA-worst Charlotte left a bad taste in the Raptors' mouths.

"If you look at the record yes, this is a game we should have had and we definitely need the next one going into the All Star break," said DeMar DeRozan, who had a game-high 24 points. "We need to be able to close out games moving forward."

Last in the Atlantic Division, Toronto has been outscored by just 4.8 points per game during its skid. The Raptors had shot 51.1 percent from the field over their previous three games before being limited to 41.7 percent versus the Bobcats.

"It cannot happen," said Jose Calderon, averaging 20.4 points and 9.6 assists over his last five contests. "We cannot just can't come out here at home and be flat like that ... We have to play good against every team.

"We have to get better at it. We have four days to get better at it and try to get a win against Detroit and go into the All-Star break."

Since beating Detroit (11-23) five consecutive times, the Raptors have been outscored by an average of 14.0 points in its losing streak in the series.

While the Pistons are at the bottom of the Central, it's safe to say they've picked up the pace of late after winning seven of 10.

Detroit led by as many as 17 points Tuesday and found itself on the verge of a fourth straight victory before things fell apart in a 101-100 loss at Cleveland.

The Pistons were outrebounded 18-8 and surrendered a season-worst 35 points in the fourth quarter. They had no answer for this season's No. 1 overall pick Kyrie Irving, who scored 17 of his 25 points in the final period.

"We just stopped getting stops," fellow rookie Brandon Knight, who scored 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting, told the team's official website. "It's never going to be one player. Anything that we do is going to be on us. We just started giving up easy baskets. I think it was 20 points in the first six minutes of the fourth. It was really just us not buckling down."

Greg Monroe, averaging 20.5 points on 64.9 percent shooting in his last four road games, had 19 and 11 boards to go along with a career-high seven assists Tuesday. Tayshaun Prince, meanwhile, scored just seven points on a season-worst 2-of-15 shooting.

Tuesday's loss dropped Detroit to 3-13 on the road, where it's averaging 85.9 points to rank 29th in the league. The Raptors are 4-0 at home when holding opponents below 90 points but 0-11 when teams score 90 or more.

Toronto continues to play without star Andrea Bargnani and could also be without Linas Kleiza in this one. Kleiza (left knee) missed his second straight game Friday, leaving his status for Wednesday unknown.

DeRozan scores 23 as Raptors beat Pistons

Posted Feb 22 2012 10:46PM

TORONTO (AP) After turning around a terrible start, the Detroit Pistons head into All-Star weekend with a bad taste in their mouths.

DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, Aaron Gray set season highs with 12 points and 12 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors snapped a four-game losing streak, beating Detroit 103-93 on Wednesday night.

"You don't want to skip this game and get into the break but I think we kind of did that," said Greg Monroe, who led the Pistons with 30 points and 14 rebounds. "We have to find a way to stay focused, no matter the circumstances."

It was the second loss in as many nights for the Pistons, who blew a 17-point lead and allowed a season-worst 35 fourth-quarter points in Tuesday's 101-100 loss at Cleveland.

Those back-to-back defeats came after Detroit, who opened the season 4-20, ran off seven victories in nine games.

"We've shown what we're capable of: both ends of the spectrum," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said.

Frank, Detroit's first year coach, said he wanted his team to use the weekend off to adjust their mental focus.

"This gives us a healthy break to reflect on which kind of team do we want to be," he said. "Do we want to be the group that played the first 24 games or the group that was able to put together consistent basketball for a little stretch?

"We want to be that (second) group. You have to mentally and physically engaged to do it every night and that's what we have to commit to."

Monroe certainly felt the sting of consecutive losses to struggling opponents.

"It's two games we definitely wanted to win," he said. "We had some good momentum going into these two games. We'll have to take this break, regroup and find that same energy and focus we had in those games we were winning."

Detroit's Rodney Stuckey came in averaging 23.5 points in his previous five games but was held scoreless in this one, missing the only two shots he took.

Leandro Barbosa scored 17 points, James Johnson had 15 and Amir Johnson added 11 for the Raptors, who had lost seven of eight coming in, and were coming off a disappointing home loss to Charlotte, the NBA's worst team.

"The guys competed," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "We got our defensive focus back."

Ed Davis scored 10 points and Jose Calderon added 15 assists as Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak against Detroit.

"We definitely needed that," DeRozan said. "I hope it carries over into the second half. Detroit has been playing extremely well, so that was a good test for us."

Rookie Brandon Knight scored 16 points and Tayshaun Prince added 14 as Detroit dropped to 3-14 on the road.

Jason Maxiell scored 12 points for the Pistons, who had won three of four.

Up by 14 points to begin the final quarter, Toronto put the game away with a 15-6 run over the first four minutes. Davis scored six points in the spurt, capping it with a fade away jumper as he was falling down to put Toronto up 89-66, its biggest lead of the night, with 8:09 to play.

After calling timeout, the Pistons rallied with a 13-0 run. Knight hit a 3, Jonas Jerebko made a running dunk and Monroe scored six straight points before Knight added a driving layup, cutting the gap to 89-79 with 5:38 left.

"That game was obviously getting away from us and they kept on clawing," Frank said of his team's effort.

Gray made two of four from the line to stop the run, then answered another 3 by Knight with a layup as the Raptors held firm. DeRozan added a free throw on the next possession, giving Toronto a 94-82 lead with 4:11 remaining.

"It's just exciting to win," Gray said. "We didn't finish as well as we wanted to, but to win this game going into the All-Star break is going to make us feel a lot better."

DeRozan topped 20 points for the fifth time in seven games. He scored 12 in the first quarter as the Raptors led 28-24 after one. Toronto shot a sizzling 58 percent in the first quarter and was almost as good in the second, making 12 of 21 attempts. They led 53-45 at the half.

Toronto missed eight of its first nine shots in the third quarter, but a dunk by James Johnson and a 3 by Calderon, his first basket of the night, sparked a 17-6 run over the next six minutes. The Raptors led 74-60 heading into the fourth.

NOTES: Restricted free agent Wilson Chandler, who played in China during the lockout, was in Toronto with his agent Wednesday to "explore opportunities" with team management, according to Raptors PR staff. ... Raptors F Linas Kleiza (left knee) missed his third straight game. ... Detroit swingman Damien Wilkins played despite suffering from flulike symptoms. ... Pistons G Will Bynum was away from the team for personal reasons. ... Toronto finished its franchise-record seven game homestand at 2-5. The Raptors do not play at home again until March 2.

Notebook: Raptors 103, Pistons 93

Posted Wednesday February 22, 2012 11:35PM

By Duane Watson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: DeMar DeRozan had 23 points and 7 rebounds while Leandro Barbosa came off the bench for 17 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the Detroit Pistons 103-93 at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night. The win snaps a four-game skid for the Raptors, who got their second victory in a franchise-tying seven-game homestand.

The Pistons played their second in a back-to-back, losing to the Cavaliers on Tuesday night 101-100. They couldn't get it going tonight and were out shot, out rebounded, out passed and out hustled beating them in a number of statistical categories. They are now on a two-game losing streak and are 3-14 on the road this season.

For the Raptors, James Johnson scored 15 points and Aaron Gray chipped in a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Jose Calderon had a game-high 15 assists.

Detroit was led by their All-Star delegates, Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight, 30 points and 14 rebounds and16 points respectively. Both will be playing in the Rising Stars Challenge game in Orlando this weekend.

QUOTABLE: "We definitely needed that and I hope it carries over into the second half of the season. Detroit has been playing extremely well, so that was a good test for us."
-- Raptors forward DeMar DeRozan

THE STAT: Calderon is third in the league in assists averaging 8.9 per game had a game high 15. The Pistons as a whole could only muster 16. While the two point-guard tandem of Knight and Rodney Stuckey has been effective during the Pistons recent run, they had difficulty moving the ball and only had four assists between them.

TURNING POINT: Even though the Raptors were up 23 points in the fourth quarter, the Pistons made a 22-8 run to bring the game within 9. It wasn't until Barbosa's fast -break layup with 33.3 seconds in the game making it 101-89 that the Raptors victory was assured.

QUOTABLE II: "I just like to play basketball. Whatever the game is giving me, I'll take. If they are double teaming, then the pass has to be somewhere. I just let Jose (Calderon) run the floor and he gets everyone else facilitating."
-- Raptors forward James Johnson

HOT: DeRozan shot 5 for 6 from the field and 4 for 4 from the free throw line for 14 points in the first half. The Raptors shot 57.5 percent as a team from the field and lead at the half 53-45. "I like to start off quick and have my team follow right behind me," DeRozan said.

NOT: While a number of their shots weren't falling, the Pistons shot 2 for 11 from the 3-point line for the game. Both made baskets came courtesy of Knight with less than eight minutes left In the fourth quarter.

GOOD MOVE: With 8:07 left in the game and an 89-66 score for the Raptors, Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank inserted Knight back into the game. He immediately made an impact, hitting the team's first 3-point shot of the game and assisting on a Jonas Jerebko dunk to start a 22-8 run, bringing the game to within 9 points.

NOTABLE: The Pistons have no dropped two in a row after wining their previous three games. ... The victory also ends Toronto's three game losing streak versus Detroit. ... The Raptors shot .429 from beyond the arc, while holding Detroit to an opponent season low .167 from three-point range. ... DeRozan has scored 20 or more points in six of the last nine games. ... Gray's double-double was his first of the year, with season highs in points (12) and rebounds (12). ... Monroe's 30 point game was his second 30 point game of his career.

UP NEXT: Toronto is on a road trip after the All-Star break Tuesday @ Houston, Wednesday @New Orleans and vs Memphis on Friday. Detroit is at home after the break Tuesday vs. Philadelphia, Wednesday vs. Charlotte and Saturday @ Memphis.

• Pistons: Villanueva
• Raptors: Bargnani, Kleiza

• Pistons: --
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #6 Tony Brown, #44 Eli Roe
• Attendance: 17125
• Duration: 2:18