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 They outscored the New Orleans Pelicans 31-20 in the first
quarter and 33-21 in the third, then held on for a 108-101 victory.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey said wanted to see the team's second unit
do better than it did against the Pelicans.
"What it's doing is putting a lot of pressure on the starters,
putting them into big-minute situations," Casey said.
Pelicans coach Monty Williams had the opposite problem.
"In the first and third quarters, we didn't have a lot of production
from our starting group," Williams said. "It was just a hole that we
dug, and then our second unit came in and gave us a lot of juice and
effort."
The Raptors' bench was thinner than usual because forward Patrick
Patterson, who scored a season-best 22 points, was forced into a
starting role to replace injured forward Amir Johnson.
"But still we've got to get more off that second unit coming in,"
Casey said.
Guard DeMar DeRozan also scored 22 points for the Raptors, who
snapped a two-game losing streak.
Guard Kyle Lowry added 19 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds for
Toronto (27-24). Guard/forward Terrence Ross added 14 points, and
forward Tyler Hansbrough came off the bench to score 12 points.
Lowry played nearly 39 minutes and made some big plays, particularly
on the offensive glass late in the game. DeRozan played slightly
more than 40 minutes.
Guard Tyreke Evans came off the bench to lead the Pelicans (22-29)
with 23 points and 10 assists. Forward Anthony Davis added 19
points, and guard Brian Roberts scored 18. Guard Eric Gordon chipped
in with 10 for New Orleans, which lost its second game in a row.
"I don't know if it was the back-to-back (coming off a road loss to
the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday) or the time of the season, but we
didn't have the same zip that we typically have," Williams said.
The Pelicans also struggled with free throws, going 17-for-26 from
the line.
"Unreal," Williams said. "Big free throws. We had a chance to cut
the lead and change the tone of the game, and sometimes we missed
them both."
Toronto earned its seventh win in the past eight meetings with New
Orleans, which had its only victory in the stretch Jan. 17, 2011.
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"We missed a couple of tough shots towards the end," Gordon said.
"The second unit really brought us back. The second unit, they
attacked, they were always in attack mode. We just got to get to
where we were and play real good defense."
The Raptors entered the fourth quarter with a 12-point lead, but a
jumper by Pelicans guard Anthony Morrow cut the lead to five points
with 8:59 to play. New Orleans forward Luke Babbitt hit a 3-pointer
to reduce Toronto's lead to 87-86.
Toronto re-established a nine-point lead with 4:21 left on a bank
shot by Hansbrough and a 3-pointer by Ross.
Hansbrough was one of the Raptors' bench players who played a vital
role.
"Right now it's kind of what I have to do," Hansbrough said.
"Obviously I'm not playing a lot of minutes, so when I get on the
court and the opportunity presents itself, I just have to be ready
to help the team. That's the way I'm looking at it. When I go in,
that's what I'm doing. Obviously they were pretty physical tonight,
especially with their bigs."
Patterson gave the Raptors a 10-point lead with 1:40 to play. New
Orleans cut the lead to five points with 16.1 seconds left on a
layup by Evans.
"It was typical of a team coached by Monty Williams, they never
quit," Lowry said.
The teams were tied at the half, but the Raptors moved into a
10-point lead early in the third quarter with a 13-3 surge. A
3-pointer by Patterson bumped the lead to 17 points with 3:14 left
in the third quarter and gave him 10 points in the quarter. The lead
reached 18 before Toronto settled for an 82-70 edge at the end of
the third.
NOTES: Raptors F Amir Johnson (sore right ankle) did not play
Monday. F Patrick Patterson started in his place. ... Patterson will
continue to wear a mask to protect his broken nose for about a
month. ... Pelicans G Tyreke Evans, hampered by a cartilage tear
between his ribs, did not play in Sunday's loss to the Brooklyn Nets
because of what coach Monty Williams referred to as an internal team
issue. Evans was back in action against the Raptors. ... Monday was
the Raptors' first home game since Jan. 29, when they defeated the
Orlando Magic before departing on a five-game Western swing that
produced a 2-3 record. The Raptors play the Atlanta Hawks at Air
Canada Centre on Wednesday. ... The Pelicans visit the BMO Harris
Bradley Center on Wednesday to play the Milwaukee Bucks.
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