Friday December 19 2008 - 10:40pm Eastern
Here’s how it went down in crunch time … as the Raptors dropped their 4TH straight and saw Oklahoma City win only their 3rd game this season:
7:22 Raps down 71-68 (closest Toronto has been since the 1ST Q)
Chance to cut it to 71-70 but Bosh misses 2 free throws
Joe Smith hits a long 2; back up to 73-68
Bosh FT’s 2/2 makes it 73-70
Green misses a chippy underneath
Bosh driving lay up, 73-72
Mason bobbles out of bounds
Moon airball followed by Bosh miss under the hoop
Moon fouls Green late in the shot-clock, biting on the up fake
Timeout called 5:28 to go (OKC only 5 points on 2/10 FG so far)
1/2 FT by Green … 2nd miss tipped-in though by Collison. 76-72
Runner by Anthony Parker, 76-74
Turnover by Green
Bosh alone underneath of a sweet feed by Bargnani. 76-76 TIE
Turn-around jumper missed by Durant
Long jumper missed by Bosh
Durant open 3-pointer; 79-76
AP 3-pointer blocked by the Raptors control and then Bosh is fouled (no shots)
Running lay-up by Kapono, 79-78
Westbrook off glass from the right. 81-78
Kapono tear-drop on the right baseline. 81-80
Durant 18-footer from the top. 83-80
Timeout Raptors. 2:27 to go
3-pointer missed by Bargnani then he can’t get his own long rebound
Durant misses the jumper from about 16-feet
Bosh fouled underneath by Collison. 1/2 FT … 83-81
Green misses jumper and Bosh controls the board but it’s ripped away by Collison
Westbrook off glass from left side, 85-81
Bosh misses from about 5-feet on the right side
Monster dunk by Green puts OKC up 87-81 … :33.8 seconds to go
Inside-out … Bosh kicks it to Bargnani … and the open 3-pointer is missed
Calderon fouls Westbrook and he hits 2/2 FT. 89-81
Missed 3-pointer by Kapono
Bosh fouls Durant. He makes 2/2 FT. 91-81
Lay-up by Parker as time is about to expire. 91-83
FINAL: 91-83 Thunder Win.
“Alice Fazoolis” Player of the Game:
- DESMOND MASON
7 points
10 rebounds (team high)
4 assists
0 turnovers
“Smith and Jones” Player of the Game:
- KEVIN DURANT
24 points
8 rebounds
2 assists
3 steals
Shout-out to the Raptors:
- CHRIS BOSH
22 points
16 rebounds
3 assists
* But Bosh struggled from the field again (6/18 FG)
Stats “V-Tech” 3-In-To-Win Give-Away:
The Raptors were 2 of 17 from 3PT range
Next game:
- Raptors @ Spurs
– Saturday December 20 - Tune in at 8:00pm for the pre-game and just after 8:30pm Eastern for the “Pizza Pizza” starting line ups
E. Smith
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This team drives me to drink…I don’t know??? I really don’t know anymore…what do you say after that loss? Very disturbing…BOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!!
- Mr. TROCK BOTTOM!
I am speechless!!!
- BeburgAs I’m speechless… I only have one thought on my mind:
Will the raps miss those boos when the fans stop giving a ****???
Then… all they should hear is the silence of an empty arena and the squeaking sneakers.
- DCThrow in the towel. After this road trip its a wrap. Time to make a change. I dont know what u can do but it has to be done NOW !!!
- DouglasNiiiiiice…gettin’ crushed by the Thunder of OC!!
As my bubbie would say:
“Oy yo yo yo yoy!!”
Seeing Kevin Durant rip by Anthony Parker and serve that facial to Jermaine O’Neal was it for me.
“CLICK!”
I ended up watching the Food Network the rest of the night. And you know what? It tasted a heck of a lot better than those watching those dinos did…
- brentoCheck this out…I just finished reading the recap of tonite’s game at http://www.yahoo.com.
Got a great laugh when I read this:
“Orange and blue streamers dropped from the rafters as the crowd stood to cheer in celebration of the team’s first win at home in more than a month, coming on the strength of the team’s best defensive performance of the season.”
Hahahaha!
Droppin’ streamers from the rooftops ’cause they finally won a freakin’ game at home!!
I’m thinking I’m gonna be stuck with a whole pile of Raps tickets during the second half of this season.
Sheeeesh…
- brento…well at least Bosh showed some REAL leadership this time around as he freaked on Moon and rightly so….my only question is : why does Bosh have to be player AND coach?…come on Triano show some guts and publicly rip into these guys during games when they deserve to be ripped into - otherwise, we fans have to try to coach our own way by booing when we don’t see the proper effort from Million dollar players earning more in one game than most of the audience earn in one year …. anyone could see that Sam Mitchell didn’t have the same fire in his belly as previous years and to replace him with Triano is a joke - Suggestion: Colangelo better blow up on these guys + the coach - 2010 is a long time away and Bosh has to know that people around him including the fans care enough to get upset
- Tony Bi feel that the Toronto Raptors are the worst team in the NBA, and it hurts me to say that. :(
- TomGfromBramptonHi Eric,
I just wanted to ask you, and I know I’m not the only one asking, but where is the killer instinct on this team? Ok killer instinct may be a bit too much to ask for… how about some heart? Some desire? Some passion? Why is it that everyone on the court looks nervous and seems to rush every posession? It’s like grade school basketball out there!!
Bryan Colangelo said that this is the most talent Toronto has ever had, but honestly this is looking like the days where Jalen Rose was our go-to guy. It is not good! Now I know this is still early in the season, but something HAS to be said/done when you lost to OKC.
I know everyone is still high on Bargnani, and I must admit, I still do see a bit of potential, but lets be honest… Andrea has done almost nothing to contribute to the Raptors this year, and does not have the confidence to play in this league. Normally I’d give the kid a chance, but it’s been 3 years, and we’ve been saying the same thing all along! there must be some general managers out there who would give up a solid wing player or two solid guys to come off the bench for us in exchange for Bargnani. If not, SOMETHING needs to change, and I fear the firing Mitchell was the wrong change, even if Triano is a well-liked and respectably good coach.
Anyways appreciate the blogs Eric, and I wish you the best of holidays.
Peter
- Peter StauskasLooks like at least two Major Moves are in the works. Too many players have Quit on this team. No one is this bad this continually. Which of the big three go?
- Richard SpackmanI’m just glad that I don’t have TSN2.
- GoranThe Morning After: I feel bad for Bosh and coach Triano. They seem like the only two people in this organization who are really TRYING. I’d be surprised if Triano doesn’t get fired after this road trip where realistically Raps won’t win a single game. How can you continue with a coach who is 2-13? This is really a case of tuning out a coach and that’s why we are seeing half-hearted efforts from most of the players night in and night out. More importantly by the time this road trip ends, Raps will be 14th in the conference after 31 games!!! Considering that teams can make the playoffs in the east with 39 wins, Raps still have a shot to go 29 and 22 in the last 51 games after this road trip. I am betting a 1,000 bucks that Triano will be fired soon after this trip. Players don’t seem to respect him that much. Sad reality of pro sports where players always run the show.
- BeburgMaybe Colangelo was right when he said we were not an
- Chas Calz8-9 team ?
It’s still early and playoff spot is a realistic goal
I’m starting to suspect O’Neal is a $21 million “headcase” and a terrible Colangelo blunder . Do you think Sam might be convinced to come back and rescue this team ?
If you can put it out of your mind that this was a glorified expansion team, it actually was a pretty entertaining game………… but I can’t get it out of my mind that this was a glorified expansion team……
What do you say when your team goes off for a lofty 2 for 17 from the 3 point line???
2 of 17……
- GaryDisgraceful, a bunch of soft pathetic millionaire athletes losing to a bunch of college kids. 12 year old girl guides have more toughness then these babies. This team would get out rebounded by the Detroit Shock.
- Angry Raptor FanWhat an embarrasement to this organization this team has become. There turning into a laughing stock in the NBA. It’s time for Colangelo to swallow his pride in Bargnani and package him with Parker’s expiring contract and go pick up a Dam WING PLAYER. Let’s get some dam players that can get to the Dam bucket, scouting report on the Raptors is so Easy play Zone D and make them take shots cause there struggling from outside. It getting sick and tired of watching this garbage. There Heartless, there just not bringing it period. Sure fans will Boo, there Booing cause there watching there team play with Nothing.This Team needs to Man Up and Grow some fill in the blank.
- RoscoSeason is over guys! they aren’t going to win one game and come back 10-21. Bosh is going to demand a trade. It’s over!
- Paul S.It’s time for a Trade. Let’s make a Deal with the Bulls asking for Nocioni + Noah in return the Bulls get Bargnani, Expiring Parker + a second round pick. Nocioni brings consistency to the 3spot, he can play tough/Defend/score and shoots the ball Well. Noah will bring Energy/Defense and Rebounding especially on the offensive glass of the bench. It’s time Colangelo swallow your pride on Bargnani…..
- RoscoThis was probably one of the most PAINFUL games to watch so far. Easy missed shots, Durant et. al. blowing past our D and then some BRICKS tossed in the general direction of the net.
I agree with Tony B; good on Bosh for finally ripping into them a bit, but where is Triano??? I saw an interview with him after the game where he said he was proud of Bargnani and how he played?? I’m sorry was he at the game? True, he DID have a better second half but COME ON!!
There needs to be a lot of change to this team. They are losing heart and the other teams, not to mention the fans, can see it.
Oh and brento…I’ll take those tickets off your hands. No problem!
- AndreaObviously the honeymoon for Brian Colangelo is over. The very weaknesses that have plagued this team for a few years now have still not been addressed; rebounding and consistent quality defense along with the questionable evaluation of the potential of the personnel on this team. A quick athletic opposition is just too much for this cast of characters to handle.
- RonTo Andrea and the rest:
Just wanted to mention that the tickets I speak of are my own season seats…I’m not a broker or scalper or anything like that (HATE THEM!!).
I’ve had my season seats for 9 seasons and have, unfortunately, very few positive memories of our team’s performance.
Watching Vince rise was phenomenal, a new experience for everyone involved with the team. However, his emotional (and later, physical) demise caused me and my fellow Raptor supporters to get him out of town. Unfortunately, it came a bit too late as Rob Babcock had absolutely no trade leverage and was fortunate to find a trade partner in New Jersey.
So many seasons, one playoff round win…almost every year, it’s the same story — no one driving through the lane, no one rebounding aggressively, no one displaying the leadership this team so desperately has needed.
I can’t believe I’m still lamenting the loss of Charles Oakley, but that really was the turning point for this team.
SAD.
- brentoI hate how some people are still defending Colangelo like he’s some GOD general manager. I mean - he hasn’t won anything and he’s make crappy decisions in the past. The fact is this….since he’s been here, what has he accomplished. Mind you, he’s getting a huge contract and supposedly can do anything he wants.
1) Traded Hoffa for Humphries - Hump rarely gets playing time even when he plays well.
2) Bargnani draft pick…EPIC FAIL!
3) Signing Kapono and Moon - come on. Non factors.
4) TJ/JO trade - hasn’t turned out well and that draft pick went to Indiana.
That’s all I can remember. Roko may be good and he was drafted by Babcock. Ultimately, Colangelo hasn’t done a damn thing…..oh yah, the TJ for Charlie V trade that essentially cancels out.
- JamalI feel bad for Jay, but I really don’t feel bad for this team. Desmond Mason a class act !
- D12Honestly…I like Colangelo. Jerry(Bryan’s Dad) that is. Bryan needs a butt whooping from his pops. And as for his VP of the Raptors… Start drafting NCAA players and stop wasting talent for euroleauge players. Do the Boston routine on how they did over the 2007 summer off-season moves.
- Stevenbrento,
- Andreajust picking up on the feeling of depair…didnt think you actually meant it. hope you weren’ t offended by that…