Suns

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DeMar DeRozan drilled a long three-pointer to beat the shot clock with 51 seconds remaining to put Toronto up seven. The shot capped off a big second half for DeRozan and helped the Raptors to a 104-97 decision to get back into the win column. The victory moves Toronto to 33-16 on the season.

Prior to the game, the NBA announced that Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan were named co-winners of the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month award. The duo helped Toronto to a 12-2 record in January, tops in the Eastern Conference. DeRozan averaged 23.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while Lowry averaged 21.7 points, 6.7 assists and 2.3 steals in the month as the Raptors went on a franchise-record 11-game winning streak.

Rookie Norman Powell got his first career start against the Suns, filling in for the injured James Johnson. After Johnson suffered a sprained ankle on Monday in Toronto’s loss to Denver, the team needed a replacement and the decision to start Powell allowed head coach Dwane Casey to keep his bench rotation as close to normal as possible.

One night after a deflating loss against the Nuggets, the Raptors allowed the Suns to reel off a 32-point opening quarter before settling in and playing their game on both ends of the floor. Toronto trailed by seven in the first quarter, but outscored Phoenix 24-13 in the second to take a seven-point halftime lead. Thanks to big games from Markieff Morris and Devin Booker the Suns stayed in it, but Toronto never trailed in the second half.

Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting. He made five of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc, all five of his free throw attempts, and added four assists, three rebounds and two steals in nearly 42 minutes. Lowry helped Toronto turn things around after a slow start and scored 16 of his 26 before halftime. He added 10 more points in the fourth to help secure the victory.

Bismack Biyombo scored seven points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench. He shot 2-for-3 from the floor, 3-for-3 from the free throw line, and added an assist and a blocked shot. The Raptors were a +17 with Biyombo on the floor, and his defensive energy in the second quarter helped the Raptors to get back into the game.

“It’s good to get back to winning. It feels good to win.”- Kyle Lowry on getting back on track after a loss on Monday night

36… Points in the paint for the Raptors, compared to 30 for the Suns.30… A season-high 30 points for Markieff Morris to lead Phoenix. Morris also added 11 rebounds, six assists, a steal, and two blocked shots.35… Bench points for Toronto, 12 for the Suns. Terrence Ross led the way with 16 off the bench on 6-for-11 field goals, while Cory Joseph also reached double figures, adding 10 points in 27 minutes.32… Free throw attempts for the Raptors, while the Suns made it to the line just 15 times. Toronto shot 78 percent at the line (making 25-of-32 attempts), compared to Phoenix’s 73 percent (11-of-15 attempts).27… Points for Suns rookie Devin Booker who also added five rebounds and two steals. Booker shot 9-for-19 from the floor and 6-for-14 from the three-point line.

“They played their game. We played ours. We competed the way we have to even though it wasn’t a perfect game. What we’re looking for is competition. Guys competing, staying focused with energy levels on a back-to-back and we did that.”- Dwane Casey on his team pulling out a win after a slow start“We’re just trying to find ways to win games. Whether it’s offence, defence, we’re just trying to find ways to win games and close them out.”- Kyle Lowry on taking the lead and not relinquishing it“We’ve got to play defence. We’ve got to buckle down on defence. They were getting in a rhythm and we had to slow them down and rebound the ball and that’s what we did in the second quarter. We took advantage of that and kept it going from there.”- DeMar DeRozan on how the Raptors got back into the game after trailing by seven in the first quarter“Just me and Biz saying, ‘Yo, here we go. It’s time.’ Every time we check into the game that’s what we say to each other. ‘Here we go. Let’s do this. Let’s change the game.’”- Patrick Patterson on how he and Bismack Biyombo approach checking into the game off the bench“It’s one of those things where we keep trying to grow, continue to get better and lead our team. Grow as individuals and teammates and push our team to the next level.”- Kyle Lowry on he and DeMar DeRozan sharing Eastern Conference Player of the Month honours

The Raptors will take on the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center on Thursday at 10 P.M. ET.

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Game Rap: Raptors 104, Suns 97

It’s game two of a back-to-back for Toronto (32-16) tonight who will face the Suns (14-35) in Phoenix. The Raptors will have to recover quickly after a lopsided loss last night in Denver. Phoenix last played Sunday when they were beaten by the Mavericks in Dallas.

Markieff Morris – Ever since his twin brother Marcus was traded to Detroit, things haven’t gone so smoothly for Markieff in Phoenix. Morris and first-year coach Jeff Hornicek appeared not to see eye-to-eye and that led to the 26-yr old playing limited minutes here in his fifth season. Despite struggling against the Raps in their first matchup in late November, the departure of Hornicek may result in a new lease on life, something which Toronto should be wary of.

Cory Joseph&lt;/strong – In his first season with the Raptors, Joseph has been a steady and reliable presence off the bench, anchoring a much improved second unit. The Pickering native is in the midst of arguably his best stretch of play this season and over his last five games is averaging 11 points, four assists and three rebounds. With Phoenix thin at the moment in their backcourt due to injury, tonight could be an opportunity for Joseph to stay aggressive and continue to give Toronto a scoring punch off the bench.

It was a heck of a run for this Raptors team, breaking and setting records along the way. Seven straight wins at home, four straight on the road and 11 in a row 				    overall.

The long streak came to an end last night after a humbling result in Denver and one that Dwane Casey would like to forget about quickly.

“That was one of our stinkers, it’s on all of us. Now the good thing about the NBA, you’ve got tomorrow night.” was Casey’s reaction after the game.

After being named an All-Star alongside Kyle Lowry last week, DeMar DeRozan was one of the only reliable Raptors players on offence against the Nuggets. He was able to put things in perspective after the loss.

“You want to play great for the whole season, every single game, but it just doesn’t work that way. We got humbled tonight. I told all the guys we’ve just got to bounce back. We’ve got another game tomorrow. We can forget about this one. It happens. Just move on.”

A lot of things went Toronto’s way during their winning streak and last night it was time for the Raptors to be on the wrong end of lady luck. Nuggets rookie Nikola Jokic who averages nine points per game on the year, poured in 27 points and 14 rebounds as it all went Denver's way Monday night.

Tonight’s game provides an opportunity to start another streak and DeRozan prefers it to be of the winning variety.

“We just understand that, don’t drop two in a row. Learn from our mistakes tomorrow, but don't let a streak from the losing side start.”

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Game Day: Raptors @ Suns

Eric Bledsoe blocked a three-point attempt from Luis Scola with 0.2 seconds remaining and the Raptors trailing by three. Although an exciting rally late helped the Raptors to tie the game with four minutes remaining, the 11-point fourth quarter deficit proved to be too much for the team to overcome on the second night of a back-to-back. The 107-102 loss to the Suns moves the Raptors to 11-7 on the season.

While the Raptors and Suns were still playing, Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant announced that his 20th season would be his last one. The news was tough to swallow for California natives DeMar DeRozan and Norman Powell, even though it wasn’t unexpected. Rookie Powell wears No. 24 for Bryant, while DeRozan has spent his playing career working to learn Bryant’s best moves.

DeMar DeRozan led the way for the Raptors with 29 points on 11-for-20 field goals. One night after dishing the assist to Cory Joseph for the game winner in Washington, DeRozan recorded a team-high seven assists with just a single turnover. He added three rebounds and a blocked shot as well. DeRozan’s playmaking skills continue to improve and he’s averaging a career-best 4.1 assists per game this season.

DeMarre Carroll scored 20 points on 8-for-13 field goals and added seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and zero turnovers in 37 minutes of action. He connected on three of his six attempts from beyond the arc and bounced back well from a 1-for-8 performance Saturday night in Washington.

“We have to do it on defence and go out to the three-point line. I feel like tonight we didn’t do that. We didn't play our best defensive game and when you do that you usually get beat.”- DeMarre Carroll on Phoenix’s bench knocking down three-pointers

50… Rebounds for the Suns, compared to 43 for the Raptors. Phoenix dominated the offensive glass, snatching 13 offensive rebounds to eight for Toronto. The Suns also doubled up the Raptors on second-chance points (14-7).46… Points in the paint for Phoenix, just 36 for the Raptors.7… Straight points for the Suns to turn a one-point deficit into a six-point lead with 1:03 remaining.41… Percent shooting from beyond the arc. After starting the season struggling from downtown, the Raptors have now made double-digit three-pointers in four of the last five games.51… Points for Phoenix’s bench. The Suns reserves outscored Toronto’s bench 51-25. Mirza Teletovic led the way with 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including a 6-for-7 performance from deep.

“The problem was second chance points. They had 14 second chance points [against] a team that was playing small. So, the opposite of what we were doing last night making sure that we protected the paint. Tonight we didn't. That was very disappointing. Back-to-back is no excuse [for] running out of gas. In fact, we shot better from three than they did. Doing the dirty work, the gritty work, are things we have to do. Last night it was turnovers, tonight it was the gritty work, getting to their three-point shooters, closing out, and running them off the line and we didn't get that done. Shake their hand. They made their shots and we didn't.”- Dwane Casey on his team giving up three-pointers and points in the paint“We have to stop putting ourselves in a tough predicament by having to fight our way out when we don't have much time to. We find ourselves in that position a little too much. Once we clean up little things at both ends it will be easier for us to close out games.”- DeMar DeRozan on learning from a familiar situation“We used a lot of energy to try and get back into the game. We had some boneheaded mistakes and I think we really lost that game instead of them beating us.”- DeMarre Carroll on fatigue being a factor down the stretch

The Raptors will face the Hawks on Wednesday in Atlanta at 8 P.M. ET

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Game Rap: Raptors 102, Suns 107

The Raptors (11-6) finish a back-to-back today against the visiting Phoenix Suns (7-9). Toronto is fresh off an exciting win in Washington last night after a Cory Joseph buzzer beater three pointer. Phoenix did not play yesterday but are in the midst of a four game losing streak.

Brandon Knight – Questions were raised when Phoenix traded for Brandon Knight with a starting point guard already on their roster in Eric Bledsoe. After a period of adjustment, Knight has fit in nicely with this Suns team. The former Kentucky Wildcat, has led Phoenix in scoring in more than a third of their games including posting a triple-double against the Lakers on 11/16.

Cory Joseph –  Were it not for one special shot, Kyle Lowry might have found his name here once again. Take nothing away from the Raptors back-up point guard though who had another strong game himself recording 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting while adding six assists. The cherry-on-top was his buzzer beater corner three with the Raptors down one to win the game and extend the team’s winning streak to four in a row.

When it looked as though Toronto was going to come up just short last night in Washington, Cory Joseph stepped up and knocked down the shot of the season to keep the Raptors winning streak alive.

Here is how members of the team saw Joseph’s clutch shot.

“The play was for DeMar to catch it and get something quick. He had the presence of mind with a very short period of time to make a play and he did.” - Dwane Casey

“Give all the credit to DeMar and Cory for that win. That was a hell of a pass and hell of a shot. I think we’re just happy to come out of there with the win.” - Kyle Lowry

“I knew if I got it to him clean, he was going to knock it down. That’s just Cory. You can trust him with something like that.” - DeMar DeRozan

“It was a good shot, I guess. DeMar trusted me to take it, he passed it, and I was able to knock it down.” - Cory Joseph

Such is the NBA that the Raps will have had little time to bask in the win with a game against Phoenix less than 24 hours after tip-off in DC.

Toronto returns home where they have won four of the five games played at Air Canada Centre. They face a Phoenix Suns team who they split last year’s season series with one a piece, including a 95-93 home win last February.

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Game Day: Raptors vs. Suns

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PHOENIX (CP) – The Phoenix Suns caught the Toronto Raptors at the end of a long road trip and ran away from them in a hurry.

Eric Bledsoe scored 20 points, fellow guards Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas added 18 apiece and the Suns handed the Raptors their second straight blowout loss, 125-109, on Sunday night.

"They had their foot on the gas the whole game," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "If they play like that, they're going to win a ton of games."

Seven Suns hit double figures in the team's highest-scoring non-overtime game this season.

"I think that was the most complete game that we've had this season," Dragic said. "We were focused from the first minute to the last minute of the game, offence and defence."

The Raptors, who trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half and 27 in the second, finished a season-long six-game road trip with their two most one-sided losses of the season, losing at Golden State 126-105 on Friday night.

Toronto has lost three in a row for the first time in more than a year.

"We were flat as a pancake," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "No zip. No bounce in our step."

Jonas Valanciunas scored 21 and Kyle Lowry 19 for the Raptors. Lou Williams and James Johnson added 17 apiece.

"It's three games," Lowry said. "Everybody loses games. We weren't going to go 82 and 0 and we weren't going to break the Bulls record at 72 and 10."

The Suns won for the eighth time in 10 games.

"We started out the game with energy and we finished with energy," Bledsoe said. "We couldn't have asked for a better game."

The Suns shot 67 per cent (30-for-45) in the first half for a 70-53 lead at the break, tying their highest-scoring first half of the season. Phoenix made 18 of 23 shots in a 43-point second quarter, its most points in any quarter this season.

A 27-7 run late in the first quarter and early in the second put the Suns up by 17. The Raptors cut it to 60-50 after Terrence Ross' 3-pointer, followed by Amir Johnson's free throw with 2:37 left in the half. The Suns responded with a 10-1 run to take their biggest lead of the half, 70-51, before Valanciunas' basket cut it to 70-53 at the break.

Toronto, the league leader at 11.7 turnovers per game, committed 13 in the first half, resulting in 25 Phoenix points.

Bledsoe, Dragic and Thomas accounted for 35 of the Suns' 70 first-half points.

Phoenix led by as many as 25 in the third quarter and 27 in the fourth. The Suns' 98 points through three quarters matched a season high.

"We could have won by 40 if we left our starters in," Hornacek said.

Raptors: Last lost three in a row during a five-game losing streak Nov. 26-Dec. 6, 2013. ... Entered the game second in the league in scoring (108 ppg), the Suns fourth (106.7). ... Faced five of the NBA's top 10 scoring teams in their six-game road trip. ... Are 11-7 without DeMar DeRozan, out with a torn abductor tendon. ... 27-point deficit was their largest of the season, eclipsing 23 points in the previous game at Golden State.

Suns: Have won five straight against Eastern Conference teams. ... Missed their highest score of any half this season by one point with their 70 in the first half. ... Have scored at least 100 points in eight straight games. ... Fans received a small stuffed dragon in honour of Dragic's nickname – 'The Dragon.' ... Split the season series with Toronto 1-1. ... Play their next four on the road. ... Archie Goodwin had a soaring breakaway dunk over Valanciunas late in the game.

Suns

Game Rap: Raptors 104, Suns 97

Game Day: Raptors @ Suns

Game Rap: Raptors 102, Suns 107

Game Day: Raptors vs. Suns

Raptors Burned By Suns In Road Trip Finale