Pelicans guard Buddy Hield battles for the ball with Raptors centre Jonas Valanciunas during Tuesday’s game.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
The Toronto Raptors, desperate to find a soft landing spot from the January freefall that has zapped their confidence, were hoping it might come in the form of the New Orleans Pelicans.
While the Raptors are reeling, having dropped six of their past seven heading into Tuesday night's NBA contest at Air Canada Centre, their overall record still remains a sight better than the losing mark being hauled around by the Pelicans.
But the Raptors don't do anything easy of late, and the final day of a long month would not start out any different.
About 90 minutes before the opening tip, Toronto coach Dwane Casey delivered the bad news that DeMar DeRozan, their leading scorer and all-star, hobbled of late with a sore right ankle, would not be playing.
Even worse, the team announced that the free-wheeling guard would also not be playing in Wednesday's key encounter in Boston against the Celtics.
Looking lost early in the game without their linchpin, the Raptors (30-19) snapped out of their lethargic ways in the second half to pull out a hair-raising 108-106 overtime win over the Pelicans (19-30).
The Raptors would seize a 106-102 lead after a Kyle Lowry three with just less thantwo minutes left to play in the five-minute frame. But it was all tied up at 106-106 after Anthony Davis made a floater in the paint for New Orleans with about 30 seconds left.
Then, with 4.3 seconds left, Lowry went to his left and, over the long reach of 6-foot-7 Solomon Hill, found nothing but net from 21 feet to win it for the Raptors while the din within the ACC became earsplitting.
Lowry, who was banged around over the course of a rugged first half to the point you had to wonder if he would be able to continue to play, would finish the night with 33 points and 10 assists.
"He gets hit more than any all star that I've been around," Casey said afterward. "He's a Philly kid, he's going to bounce up. He should have probably been a running back for the Eagles."
The Raptors clawed their way back from a 14-point disadvantage at the half to take a 77-75 lead into the fourth, where the score remained tight.
With the score deadlocked at 96-96, Jrue Holiday's driving floater for the Pelicans bounced off the rim to keep the game tied and send it into overtime.
Holiday would lead the Pelicans with 30 points, while Davis finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
During their January nosedive, the Raptors have been overtaken by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics also moved into second spot over all behind the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It did not help that DeRozan had to sit for three games after spraining his right ankle during the Jan. 22 contest against the Phoenix Suns. He had only played one game in his return – Sunday against the Orlando Magic – but is still not right, which has to be concerning to the Raptors.
"DeMar DeRozan's not going to go [Tuesday night]," Casey informed reporters shortly before the opening tip. And he will also not play Wednesday in Boston.
"The medical team's going to hold him out," Casey said. "He had a little swelling after the game on Sunday night so they pulled the plug and just told him to just rehab and get it worked on these next couple of days."
DeRozan's place in the starting lineup was filled by Norman Powell.
The game in Boston marks the first of a three-game road trip for Toronto that will also see the Raptors play the Orlando Magic on Friday before moving into New York on Sunday for a tilt against the Brooklyn Nets.
Toronto's next home game will be Feb. 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
In the first half, the Pelicans shot well and took advantage of a suspect Raptors interior defence and headed into the break with a 60-46 lead.
Holiday, who had 19 of his points in the opening half for New Orleans, threaded his way past several stationary Raptor defenders for an easy layup late in the second quarter.
Hill would then hit an open three with about 26 seconds left, and the Pelicans, who knocked down almost 60 per cent (13 of 22) of their shots in the second quarter, outscoring Toronto 35-23, appeared in full control.
The momentum shifted abruptly at the start of the third where the Raptors started with a vengeance, erupting on a 14-3 run that quickly cut the New Orleans lead to 63-60.
A Lowry three followed up by a DeMarre Carroll 19-foot jump shot the Raptors in front 69-67 with five minutes left, and the Pelicans were close to being grounded.
Toronto managed to carve out a 77-75 lead heading into the fourth.