Toronto improves to 2-1 in their seven-game west coast road trip. Here’s how they blew out the struggling Blazers last night.
Fast start
The Raptors put together one of their best quarters this season, as they went up 30-7 with three minutes to go in the opening frame. The quarter ended at an eye-popping 37-14 in favour of Toronto. Gary Trent Jr. was ready to go from the start, as he led the team with 13 points in the opener. Precious Achiuwa wasn’t too far behind as he added eight points of his own.
Mid quarter woes
In the middle quarters, Toronto took their foot off the pedal after an amazing start. Portland finally woke up and after an 0-5 start beyond the arc, Portland finished the first half making fifty percent of their long balls. Portland’s Damian Lillard led his team with six points, shrinking the Raptors lead from 23 to 19 heading into the break. Precious Achiuwa had a phenomenal half as he ended up going into the break with a double-double at 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The third quarter was when it got really scary for Toronto. Jerami Grant started to catch fire as he put up 15 points in the third to get Portland within five points. The Raptors struggled mightily in this quarter, shooting a lacklustre 38 percent. Siakam and VanVleet were the two outliers who accounted for 13 out of the 25 points for Toronto.
Finishing strong
The fourth quarter was very similar to the start of the game. Toronto dominated and Portland did struggle massively, only making two threes and shooting 39 percent but the Raptors defence was great. Offensively it was the two Raptors “bigs” Achiuwa and Siakam who added nine more points each to put the game out of reach for Portland.
It was unfortunate not having O.G. Anunoby out there, but if there’s any consolation prize it’s the fact that Achiuwa earned his third start of the season. He has yet to disappoint in the starting unit with three straight double-double performances when his name is called upon and this game was easily his best performance of the season with 27 points.
Up next for Toronto is a trip to Phoenix as they’ll face off with another struggling squad on Monday.
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