Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com
IT WAS OVER WHEN
Norman Powell assisted on a Pascal Siakam dunk to put the Raptors ahead 99-87 with two minutes remaining. Thanks in large part to a big night from their stars, the Raptors collected a 103-92 victory against the Pistons to move to 4-2 in the preseason. The team has one more preseason game ahead before the regular season will tip off at the ACC against Detroit.
BACKCOURT ROLLING
Toronto’s All-Star backcourt did early work to give the Raptors a 61-46 advantage at the half. Their stellar first-half play allowed Raptors head coach Dwane Casey to rest them both through the fourth quarter and give the reserves some extra run.
CORY JOE TIME
With Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan on the bench in the final quarter, Cory Joseph went to work. As Detroit made a late push, Joseph helped the Raptors keep the distance, scoring 10 points in the quarter, while also controlling the pace for his team.
RAPTORS PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
As mentioned above, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry were fantastic against the Pistons, combining for 53 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Lowry made 8-of-17 field goals, including 5-of-8 three-pointers, and he was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the line. DeRozan shot 10-for-18 from the floor, 1-for-3 from deep, and 5-for-7 on his free throws. Both players were held under the 30-minutes mark, and did the bulk of their damage in the first half where they scored 20 points apiece.
UNDERRATED RAPTORS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Lucas Nogueira came off the bench in Wednesday’s game, but he had a solid night and finished strong. Nogueira is hoping to earn a bigger role this season in the wake of Bismack Biyombo’s departure, and his eight-point, five-rebound, two-assist effort was a nice outing. Nogueira shot 4-for-5 from the floor in 18 minutes of action.
BY THE #’S
9…Three-pointers for the Raptors on 21 attempts, compared to just 5-for-23 shooting from deep for the Pistons.
47…Rebounds for Toronto, who outrebounded Detroit 47-37 in the game. The Raptors did a good job on the offensive glass, holding an 11-4 edge, with Jonas Valanciunas grabbing 12 rebounds in 28 minutes, nearly matching Andre Drummond’s 13 in 35 minutes of action.
31…Bench points for the Raptors, 25 for the Pistons.
16…Points, 13 rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot for Detroit’s Andre Drummond in 35 minutes to lead the Pistons. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also scored 16 points for Detroit.
20…Assists recorded for each team.
UP NEXT:
The Raptors will close out the preseason on Friday night in Washington against the Wizards at 7 P.M. ET.