On his first visit back to Toronto since the Raptors fired him last spring, Dwane Casey’s Detroit Pistons slapped the NBA-leading Raps with just their third loss of the season, and his players spilled onto the floor shower their new coach with celebratory hugs.
Behind 30 points and 12 rebounds from Blake Griffin, Detroit – the sixth-place team in the Eastern Conference – orchestrated a white-knuckled 106-104 come-from-behind victory over the Raptors. Griffin concluded the emphatic night by saying the win was for Casey. Then the all-star delivered the zinger of the night when asked about his new coach’s ability to draw up game-winning plays.
“It’s not like we just discovered this today. We put in plays like that all the time in practice,” said Griffin. “He demands execution and we executed. Maybe to Toronto fans or to their GM it was a surprise, but not to us.”
Kawhi Leonard, who led the Raptors with 26 points and nine rebounds, had a chance to win it with the game tied 104-104, but made a costly gaffe instead. He was dribbling in for what could have been the game-winning shot when the ball ricocheted off his shoe and out of bounds with two seconds remaining. Reggie Bullock hit the final bucket for Detroit, and the Pistons flooded the floor in celebration.
“They were pulling for me. I appreciate that tremendously,” said Casey of his Pistons. “They felt for me. I was trying to deflect it as much as we could. Blake was the first one. ‘This is a great win for you coach.’ That means something when your star player comes to you and tells you that and other players join. We have a good unit. We may not be as talented, but we’re gonna be one of the scrappiest bunches in the Eastern Conference, I promise you that.”
It was the second straight loss for the Raptors, who fell to 12-3, while the Pistons – a club that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2008 – improved to 7-6.
Kyle Lowry, who had 14 points and seven assists for Toronto, blamed a lack of communication.
“I think just talking, man. Communication. Open your mouth. We’ve gotta speak, we’ve gotta talk, you’ve gotta say something,” said Lowry. “Can’t play if you can’t say nothing.”
The lead-up to the game had been surreal. The likeable ex-Raptors coach held court for a lengthy media session after the Pistons’ morning shoot-around – one so large it looked like Game 7 of a playoff series.
He shook hands with all the familiar faces in Toronto’s sports media contingent. He joked that his young son, after spending much of his childhood in Toronto, was glad to find a Tim Hortons in their new Michigan neighbourhood, so he won’t go without Timbits.
Casey’s pre-game media session was no less jam-packed. He gushed about the talent he sees from afar on this year’s Raptors team, and spoke like a proud papa of the young players he helped develop. The well-mannered coach was stopped by well-wishers countless times in the arena’s basement hallway on his short walk to the visitor’s locker room, from media to stadium staff to season ticket holders.
A hearty standing ovation roared throughout a video tribute for Casey in the first quarter. Griffin had to tell him to stand up and acknowledge the crowd because Casey had been busy drawing up a play and didn’t see the video.
Shoulder soreness left the Raptors without Serge Ibaka on Wednesday, right in the midst of a strong run the Congolese big man has been having at the centre spot. Instead, the Raptors inserted Jonas Valanciunas back into the starting lineup for this game, set to battle with Detroit big man Andre Drummond.
The Lithuanian 7-footer got into some early foul trouble and little-used Greg Monroe was thrust into action already in the first quarter. Monroe came up with a 17 point, 7 rebound night, while Valanciunas would manage 14 points and six boards.
With Both Norman Powell and C.J Miles also off with injuries, the Raptors reached further down the bench to fill out their reserve corps. Malachi Richardson was brought in, fresh off a 34-point night on Tuesday with the team’s G-League affiliate, Raptors 905 (which included eight three pointers).
The Pistons, who had trailed by as much as 19 during the night, roared back on a 23-9 run and stole the lead in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, capitalizing on Raptor gaffes and turnovers. There were fiesty moments down the stretch – like a charge by big Drummond on Lowry and a swatting block by Griffin.
Pascal Siakam, decked in flashy teal shoes, had 17 points and seven rebounds while also spending much of his night chasing around Griffin. He thwarted the first of two Pistons game-winning in-bound plays with a monster block. But then ex-Raptor Jose Calderon executed the pass to Bullock, who scored the fadeaway winner.
The Raptors shot an abysmal 4 of 20 from three-point range and 10 of 17 from the free-throw line.
Next up for the Raptors is a Friday contest in Boston with the Celtics.
Rachel Brady