Toronto Raptors guard Louis Williams (23) battles against Detroit Pistons guard D.J. Augustin during first half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Sunday, January 25, 2015.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
The Toronto Raptors feel as though they're marching back in the right direction.
In recent days, the Raptors had lost to the Memphis Grizzlies and done just enough to beat the lowly Philadelphia 76ers. Sunday, they came home and battled tooth-and-nail with a determined Detroit Pistons squad who pushed them until the final buzzer, but managed to squeak out a 114-110 victory.
DeMar DeRozan led the way with 25 points, while Jonas Valanciunas elbowed his way to 20 points and 11 rebounds in the post, as the Raptors put together a second-straight victory. In doing so Toronto improved to 29-15 and held off a Detroit squad barrelling hard after one of the playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors opened up an early 11-2 lead, only to then turn around and let Detroit do the same thing to keep it a one-point game for Toronto to end the first quarter. There would be 11 lead changes in the first half before the Raptors took a 58-53 hold into half-time.
"I thought today, they responded to the last game, we were making steps," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "We've got to get to where we can put a whole game together now. We've shooting for consistency."
The hot-rolling Pistons were without Brandon Jennings, the point guard who torched Toronto for 34 points when Detroit last visited two week ago and stole a 114-111 comeback win. News broke Sunday that Jennings will miss the rest of the season with a torn left Achilles tendon, an injury he suffered the night before in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Jennings had been the catalyst behind the one of the pluckiest teams in the NBA winning 12 of their last 16 games and barrelling in the direction of the franchise's first playoff spot since 2009.
"He had the most outward, visible confidence, both in himself and in the team," said Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy. "He genuinely thought we would go out and kick everybody's butt every night and it gave his teammates belief…..now that will have to come from someone else."
On this particular night in Toronto, that someone else stepping up for Detroit was former Raptor reserve point guard D.J. Augustin. The youngster who rode the pine for his less-than half season in Toronto last year, zigged around Raptor defenders for 31 points Sunday night, including five three-pointers. However, the candid Van Gundy called Detroit's defence "terrible", adding "if you can't win scoring 110 points, then you don't deserve to."
The Raptors were tested by the NBA's top-rebounding duo of Detroit big men Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. The two combined for 23 boards, as Detroit out-rebounded Toronto 43-36.
Terrence Ross, removed from the starting lineup last week to try and ignite his performance, spent the entire first quarter on the bench while Greivis Vasquez started in his place. Ross showed glimmers of the old confidence at times. Starting the second quarter, he came out quickly for a dunk, followed immediately by a three-pointer. He also sped through defenders and delivered a beautiful assist to Amir Johnson with the game hanging in the balance in the fourth quarter. He was 2-of-6 over- 22 minutes and in for his defence in the closing minutes.
The Raptors had hit just 11 of the 52 three-pointers they attempted over the last two games in Memphis and Philadelphia – a big area of concern. On Sunday, they were 5 of 15 from three-point land, or 33.3 percent. Toronto gave up just eight turnovers on the night. DeRozan said he's finally hitting his stride after now seven games back following his 21-game layoff with a groin injury.
"I almost forgot how I used to get to the free throw line," said DeRozan, who hit 8 of 10 free throws, one of the biggest things the team had missed while DeRozan was out. "It felt good."
Four more Raptors scored in double digits: Amir Johnson with 17, Vasquez with 13, Lou Wililams with 12 and Kyle Lowry with 11 on a night the star point guard took the microphone and humbly thanked fans for voting him into the NBA All-Star game.
Toronto struggled to decisively put Detroit away in the closing minutes. Up by as much as eight inside the final two minutes, they allowed the Pistons to surge back within two inside the last 12 seconds. As Detroit's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope banked a last-second three-point attempt off the backboard, Ross was there to pounce on the rebound and secure Toronto's victory.
"Until those last few possessions, I thought our defensive intensity was decent, we've had it the last couple of weeks and I knew our offence was going to come around," said Casey. "DeMar was going to find his legs at the right time, and he did tonight."
The Raptors head to Indiana to face the Pacers on Tuesday, before returning home to meet Rudy Gay and the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Toronto has the next seven of ten at home.
Rachel Brady