Suns Scorch the Raptors in 4th
Short-staffed Raptors can’t hold on to lead
[Toronto Box Score] [Phoenix Box Score]
Toronto, ON – The Raptors played tonight without starting PF Donyell Marshall and back-ups PG Milt Palacio and C Loren Woods, as the three were supposed to be on a flight to Utah. Unfortunately, the trade fell through and they were stranded at the airport while the Raptors played host to the 5-0 Phoenix Suns.
The Raptors capitalized in the first quarter, doing everything that they hadn’t done thus far. Led by Jalen Rose and Chris Bosh, who combined for 19 points, the Raptors jumped out to an early lead. Contributions from Marcus Haislip, the newest Raptor, and Pape Sow off the bench aided in securing a 10 point lead at the quarter break. Bosh’s dominant inside play continued in the second as he walked away as undisputed player of the half with 20 points. His Phoenix counterpart, Amare Stoudemire, was named Phoenix’s key halftime player with 10 points, five rebounds, a block and a steal. Other notable contributors for the Raptors included Jalen Rose who ended the half with 12 points, two rebounds and five assists. Haislip dominated at the 4 with six points and six boards, while splitting time with Matt Bonner, who got the start. Rafer Alston and Morris Peterson, the long-bomb master from last game, had quiet first halves in terms of scoring, combining for just four points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Behind Stoudemire, Quentin Richardson was proving to be quite a handful for the defensive sieve Rose, as he ended with eight points, two boards and two steals. Nash quietly racked up six points, two boards and two steals. The Raptors found themselves maintaining a nine point advantage at the start of the third.
Bosh continued to roll in the third quarter, picking up eight points and a handful of rebounds. Going toe-to-toe with Stoudemire, Bosh proved to be the more potent offensive weapon, but could not get position on defense. Rose and Alston were at it with the assist game, both ending the quarter with seven a piece. The Raptors were holding on to an 11 point lead as the buzzer sounded. It seemed as though both teams would be replacing zeroes in their records.
The fourth quarter was, however, a disaster. A safe lead was held until around the five minute mark, when Phoenix had closed the lead to three on a seven-zip run. Toronto’s offensive weapons in the first half were no factors and the only player who managed to step it up was the veritable downtown assassin, Morris Peterson. Racking up 19 points in the second half, he managed to keep Toronto in the lead until the four minute mark when Eric Williams, who had seen very little action thus far, came in and allowed Richardson to walk over him to the tune of four points in a minute-and-a-half stretch. Richardson became the go-to guy and he, along with teammate Stoudemire, began to tear things apart for the Raptors. With 2:34 to go, Rose came back into the game at shooting guard, but Toronto’s once 11 point lead had been squandered and Phoenix led 88-87. Immediately after the timeout, the Raptors players had a new intensity to them. It was hard playing with such a short bench, especially for point guard Alston who played every minute of the game. On the first play after the break, Jalen Rose drove inside and gave Toronto back the lead. The Suns sped it up the floor but Steve Nash’s lay-up attempt was altered and Chris Bosh threw it down for the three point lead with under two minutes to play. Then, the hot-shooting Suns got hotter; coupled with a botched lay-up and a weary three-pointer by Alston, the Suns came back to take a 93-91 lead. The Raptors got reprieve with Stoudemire’s lousy free throw shooting, but no-one outside of Morris Peterson could buy a bucket. Down by four with six seconds left, Morris Peterson took the long inbound pass and jacked up a three which swooshed through the mesh to the delight of Raptors fans. Unfortunately, it was coupled with the sound of the final buzzer, as the Raptors fell 95-94 to the Suns.
Player of the game honours went to Quentin Richardson and his streaky second half shooting; he finished the game with 25 points, 17 in the second half on 50% shooting, three rebounds, four assists and three steals. Close in the running was centre Amare Stoudemire who ended with 22 points on 10-for-13 shooting, 11 rebounds, a block and a steal. For the Raptors, CB4’s 32 points and eight rebounds led the way, but it was his and Jalen Rose’s combined 16 points in the half versus the 32 they scored in the first two quarters that was the downfall of the team. Peterson went 4-for-7 from downtown, meaning outside of the first 4-for-12 game, he is a whopping 13-of-22 from outside. Haislip certainly impressed with eight points, nine rebounds, two assists and a block, by far outperforming the starter Matt Bonner. Once again, the guards were seeing the floor as the starting combined for 16 assists. Finally, the bench was productive, as Lamond Murray just missed double figure scoring.
Highlights:
Bosh dominated inside
Rose laying up two of his 10 first quarter points
Bosh again powering it down
Bosh throws down
Haislip rejects Nash
Haislip's first basket as a Raptor
Stoudemire teabags Bosh during the Suns' 4th quarter run
Richardson goes to the hoop
Even old-timer Murray got to the hoop
Rose's 4th quarter lay-up returns the lead to Toronto
Bosh's dunk in the fourth to go up 91-88 just was not enough to get the W
Coaches and managers available for comment.
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