Matt Tierney - Raptors.com
Toronto (49-23) is back on home soil tonight for a matchup with Oklahoma City (51-22) at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors managed to snap a mini two-game losing streak Saturday night with a victory in New Orleans. The Thunder are fresh off a victory over the Spurs to push their winning streak to seven games.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Russell Westbrook – 2015-16 stats: 24 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds per game. 15 triple-doubles. All-Star Game MVP. 5th in the league in steals. 2nd in the league in assists. 8th in the league in scoring. 22 points, 16 assists, 5 rebounds November 4th vs. TO. Enough said.
Jonas Valanciunas</strong – Since returning from a four-game hiatus due to a hand injury, Valanciunas has started to find his groove. The seven footer is averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds in his past three contests including an 18-rebound performance vs. the Rockets and recording a season-high five blocks in New Orleans. Back in November, JV posted a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds in a win in Oklahoma City.
APPROACHING HISTORY
It feels as though every game that passes another record is broken by this Raptors team.
Potentially the most impressive accomplishment however is just one win away.
Toronto’s next victory will be their 50th of the season and ensures the most successful regular season in the team’s 21-year history.
Saturday night’s result in New Orleans put the Raptors at 49-23 tying last year’s win total with 10 games still to play.
Kyle Lowry was unaware of the feat when reminded by the media after the game.
“We tied it? That’s cool, man. That’s really cool. I think it’s just something that we keep getting better. The last couple of games we just keep getting better and growing.”
Lowry’s response should come as no surprise given the Raptors have adopted a focused approach all season choosing to take things one game at a time.
Toronto will have to work to get win No. 50 with seven of their remaining 10 matchups against teams with a winning record.