Suns-Raptors Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Nov 29 2012 6:35PM

After their six-game road trip took an embarrassing turn, the Phoenix Suns could have an ideal opportunity for redemption Friday night.

They will be visiting a city where they've dominated in recent years and facing one of the league's worst teams in a matchup with the sliding Toronto Raptors.

Phoenix (7-9) had won three of four and split the first two games on this trip before a 117-77 loss at Detroit on Wednesday. It was the third-largest margin of defeat in franchise history, and it came against a Pistons team which entered with a 4-11 record.

The game was still within reach at halftime as the Suns trailed by 11, but they were tagged with four technical fouls in the third quarter and the Pistons outscored them 62-33 in the second half.

"We just lost control and we did not play well," point guard Goran Dragic said. "We were frustrated and we lost control and our minds and a couple technicals. We could not make a basket or the right play. Just overall it was a terrible game for us."

Dragic was held to a season-low 10 points for the second time in three games as the Suns shot a season-worst 34.1 percent from the field. They allowed 25 points on a season-high 19 turnovers and let Detroit hit 12 of 16 3-pointers.

"I wish it was an easier way to say this but we (stunk) in every part of the game," coach Alvin Gentry said. "There was nothing that we did that you could say was even NCAA quality. There's not anything to say."

Gentry's team has yet to string together more than two straight wins while ranking last in the league in points allowed (102.6 per game) and opponents' 3-point shooting (43.2 percent).

"We have to find a way to gain consistency in what we are doing," Gentry said. "We cannot play one night where we play well and then come back the next night and not compete."

Maybe playing the struggling Raptors (3-13) will help provide an answer. Toronto owns the NBA's second-worst record and has lost six straight.

Plus, the Suns have won seven in a row north of the border since a loss Jan. 4, 2004. Only one of those games was decided by fewer than 12 points.

Like Phoenix in its last game, the Raptors were within striking distance at the half, losing by one Wednesday at Memphis. They proceeded to shoot 30.6 percent in the second half as they were outscored by 20 en route to a 103-82 defeat.

Poor second-half play has become a troubling trend. The Raptors have led or been tied at halftime in half of their 16 games, and they've been outscored in the second half in seven of the last 10.

"We have to look at it now and be sick and tired of losing coming out of the second half," said DeMar DeRozan, averaging a team-leading 18.1 points. "We have to realize that and understand that we are doing it to ourselves. We have to man up in the second half and jump on other teams."

Second-leading scorer Andrea Bargnani (17.9 ppg) is questionable after an ankle injury forced him to sit out against the Grizzlies. He is averaging 21.4 points in 10 games against the Suns, his highest career mark versus any opponent.

Toronto lost 14 straight in the series before Bargnani scored 36 in a 99-96 win at Phoenix on Jan. 24 in the teams' last meeting.

DeRozan scores 23 as Raptors top Suns to snap skid

Posted Nov 30 2012 11:01PM

TORONTO (AP) Coming off a lopsided loss in Detroit, the Phoenix Suns looked to bounce back against the Toronto Raptors.

Instead, they let a close one slip away and fell deeper into frustration.

DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, Amir Johnson added 16, and the Raptors beat the Suns 101-97 on Friday night to snap a six-game losing streak.

Kyle Lowry scored 15 points, and Jose Calderon had 13 points and nine assists for the Raptors, who ended Phoenix's seven-game winning streak in Toronto. The Suns hadn't lost there since Jan. 4, 2004.

"We needed this one," Suns forward Luis Scola said. "We were close, we just couldn't finish."

Having lost three of four, including Wednesday's lopsided 117-77 defeat to the Pistons, the Suns were a sullen bunch after being beaten by Toronto.

Scola suggested an attitude adjustment was in order for his struggling club.

"We need to change the dynamic, we need to change our attitude, we need to change our minds," he said. "We're in the kind of dynamic where everything goes wrong. We just can't get it going.

"We need to start thinking like a winning team. We need to start believing in ourselves and winning games."

Attitude wasn't a problem for the Raptors, who celebrated their first win since a Nov. 18 victory over Orlando. Toronto lost a pair of one-point games and dropped a double overtime decision during its skid, but held on in this one.

"I feel great," Calderon said. "We showed ourselves that we can win these types of games."

Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown and Jared Dudley all scored 14 points for Phoenix. Goran Dragic had 13, and Michael Beasley chipped in with 12.

"These last two games hurt just because it's teams you think you can beat," Dudley said.

Still, coming close felt better than another big blowout.

"If you ask me which loss I think is worse, this one or Detroit, I would say Detroit," Dudley said. "When you're losing by 40, it's embarrassing. When you lose by one or two, it's execution."

Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry was happier with his team's response following the rout, the third largest margin of defeat in Suns history.

"I thought we played with much, much better effort, obviously, than we did in our last game," Gentry said. "I was happy because I thought we got good ball movement."

The problem was, Phoenix couldn't get a shot to fall when it needed it most. The Suns had four chances to tie or take the lead inside the final 36 seconds, but missed all four shots.

"We just didn't make the plays down the stretch that get you over the hump," Gentry said.

Scola scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, but the Raptors answered with a 7-0 run - including five points from Johnson - to lead 87-78 with 9:04 left.

A 3 by Calderon made it 92-85 with 6:54 remaining before back-to-back baskets by Scola cut it to 92-89. Mickael Pietrus, in his Raptors debut, made a 3 from the corner before Sebastian Telfair and Jermaine O'Neal answered for the Suns to make it 95-93 with 3:53 to go.

Phoenix trailed 96-95 with just under two minutes left when Dragic committed a turnover. Johnson finished the breakaway with a running dunk, putting the Raptors ahead by three points.

Brown's layup made it 98-97 with 1:07 left, but the Suns couldn't keep it up. After Scola sandwiched missed shots around a failed tip shot by Gortat, Lowry grabbed the rebound on Scola's second miss and was fouled. He made one of two from the line to put Toronto up 99-97 with 14 seconds to play.

Brown tried to drive for the tying basket but missed a layup. Andrea Bargnani was fouled as he went for the rebound and sealed the win by making two free throws with 3 seconds left.

After trailing by as many as 10 points in the first quarter, Toronto went ahead for the first time on a breakaway dunk by Terrence Ross at 6:42 of the second. Johnson followed with a running dunk, putting the Raptors up 40-36.

Dudley scored 11 points in the second to put the Suns back on top, but Lowry's 3 pointer at the buzzer got the Raptors within 52-51 at halftime.

Beasley scored eight points in the third quarter, but DeRozan rebounded his own blocked shot and made a buzzer-beating jumper. He then converted the free throw to put Toronto up 80-76 heading into the fourth.

After signing with Toronto earlier Friday, Pietrus had six points and two rebounds in 30 minutes.

NOTES: Bargnani returned to Toronto's lineup after sitting out Wednesday's loss at Memphis because of a sore left ankle. ... After losing 14 straight to the Suns, the Raptors have won consecutive games against Phoenix. ... Toronto waived F Dominic McGuire to make room on the roster for Pietrus. ... Singer Drake watched from a courtside seat. ... Toronto's losing streak was the longest current skid in the NBA. ... The Raptors won for the first time this season when trailing after the first quarter.

Notebook: Raptors 101, Suns 97

Josh Lewenberg, For NBA.com
Posted Fri Nov 30, 2012 10:57 PM - Updated Fri Nov 30, 2012 10:57 PM

THE FACTS: The Toronto Raptors (4-13) exorcised their fourth-quarter demons, snapping a six-game losing streak in a 101-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns (7-10) at the Air Canada Centre Friday night. DeMar DeRozan had a game-high 23 points on top of his eight rebounds for the Raptors while Amir Johnson scored 16 off the bench.

The Suns are now 1-3 with two games remaining in a season-long road trip. Five players scored in double figures for Phoenix led by Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown and former Raptor Jermaine O'Neal, each with 14 points. Goran Dragic had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists while Michael Beasley added 12 points to go along with six assists.

Toronto got off to slow start, shooting just 35 per cent and trailing 25-19 after the first quarter. Jose Calderon led the team's second-quarter run coming off the bench. Calderon finished with 13 points and nine assists while starting point guard Kyle Lowry scored 15 and added seven rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "They're all about fundamentals. They're not huge things, they're little things. Getting a stop at the right time, getting a rebound at the right time, knocking a free throw down, knocking [down] a wide-open jump shot at the right time. All those things are little, but they come [with] experience -- getting the confidence, keeping the confidence throughout tough times and not letting frustration set in."

-- Raptors coach Dwane Casey on his team's progress

THE STAT: Toronto's bench helped the team recover from their early deficit when they engineered a 21-9 run midway through the second quarter. Rookie Terrance Ross scored all seven of his points during that run. The Raptors' bench outscored Phoenix's second unit 46-36 in the game thanks in large part to the contributions of Calderon and Johnson.

TURNING POINT: With 1:47 remaining in the game and the Raptors leading by one, Andrea Bargnani forced Dragic into making a bad pass leading to a crucial turnover. The miscue resulted in an uncontested fast-break dunk by Johnson and the Suns were unable to steal the momentum back.

QUOTABLE II: "Well, we got what we wanted, we just didn't quite get it into the basket. You can read into it whatever you want. I thought we wanted to take the ball to the basket to see if maybe nothing else we could get to the foul line. I liked what we did down there, [but] obviously, we just have to complete those plays and get it in the basket."

-- Suns coach Alvin Gentry

HOT: Johnson played the entire fourth period for the Raptors, scoring half of his 16 points in the quarter. Toronto's energizer was a game-time decision after turning his right ankle in Wednesday's loss to Memphis but played 30 minutes on Friday, shooting 7-for-12 from the field.

NOT: Luis Scola had scored in double figures over the previous four games. On Friday, the Suns sixth man struggled with his shot, going 4-for-13 from the floor, scoring just eight points and committing four fouls in 29 minutes of action.

GOOD MOVE: Bargnani was also a game-time decision for the Raptors, having missed Wednesday's game with a sore left ankle. Although he had a rough night offensively, scoring just four points on 1-for-4 shooting, Casey chose to stick with his 7-footer down the stretch. Bargnani made three crucial defensive plays in the final two minutes of the game, and grabbed a big rebound with three seconds left leading to the free throws that iced the victory for Toronto.

NOTABLE: Both teams were looking to bounce back after coming off their most lopsided defeats of the season on Wednesday. The Suns lost 117-77 in Detroit, while the Raptors fell 103-82 in Memphis. ... The Suns had come into Friday's game having won their previous seven in Toronto. The Raptors' victory was their first home win over Phoenix since an 83-73 game on Jan. 4, 2004. ... Lowry and Dragic were teammates in Houston from 2010-2012. Originally the backup, Dragic started the final 26 games for the Rockets last season after Lowry was diagnosed with a bacterial infection. Dragic averaged 18.0 points, 8.4 assists and 1.8 steals as a starter in 2011-12. ... O'Neal played 41 games with Toronto in 2008-09 and Suns forward P.J. Tucker was drafted by the Raptors in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft. ... Prior to the game, the Raptors announced the signing of free agent Mickael Pietrus on Friday morning. To make room on the roster, the team waived forward Dominic McGuire. Pietrus played 31 minutes in his Raptors debut, scoring six points.

UP NEXT: For the Suns, Sunday @ New York, Tuesday @ Memphis, Thursday vs. Dallas. For the Raptors, Monday @ Denver, Wednesday @ Sacramento, Friday @ Utah.

• Suns: Frye, Marshall
• Raptors: Anderson, Fields

• Suns: --
• Raptors: Kleiza

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #16 David Guthrie, #29 Mark Lindsay
• Attendance: 18246
• Duration: 2:13