Toronto Raptors vs Detroit Pistons Recap (December 23, 2009)
2:14 December 23, 2009
Sports
MrLutareio
In the dying seconds of a blowout, as the fans streamed out of the building and few were really paying attention to what was happening on the court, Chris Bosh and Jay Triano caught each others eyes and shared a moment.
It was about to be the first time either of them had ever won a game in the Palace of Auburn Hills and it was, if not to be savoured, at least to be appreciated in a quiet way.
After all, the Raptors had lost 11 straight here, a streak that pre-dates both the all-star and the head coach and stretches back to April, 2003; they knew the significance of the moment.
"It was brought up just before the game and Chris said 'it's happening tonight,'" Triano said after the Raptors stomped the Detroit Pistons 94-64 on Wednesday night to extend their winning streak to three. "And with about 20 seconds to go, we looked down the bench and said, 'we did it.'
"And it feels good."
Playing a depleted team on the second game of a back-to-back, with legs and minds fresh from two days of preparation, the Raptors simply took care of business in devastating fashion.
They got the Pistons down by out-working them early and never let them up, holding Detroit to fewer points than any Raptors team had scored in a game this season, allowing them to shoot just 27.9 per cent from the field (another season best) while putting up another impressive offensive performance.
"That was one thing we really talked about: They played last night and we had two days rest coming into this game so there really was no excuse not to come out and have good energy coming into this game," said Chris Bosh, who had 21 points and nine rebounds and ceded offensive responsibilities to Andrea Bargnani (21 points) and Hedo Turkoglu, who had 11 points and 11 assists for his first double-double as a Raptor.
It was the kind of thorough beat-down of a weakened opponent — the Pistons were missing Ben Gordon, Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton — that the Raptors rarely show.
It gave the Raptors a bit boost of confidence heading into the Christmas break.
"We've talked all day and in the last couple of days about the importance of the game and how much more exciting it would going into a break with a win," said Triano. "I thought we were very focused and we did the right things. We defended, we shared the basketball, our assist-to-field goal ratio was very high, especially early in the game.
"We're a pretty tough team when we share the ball."
No one shared it more than Turkoglu, who had more assists himself than the Pistons did as a team. He picked apart whoever was guarding him with simple unselfish play.
"Like I said always before, if I have the ball in my hands, I'll make sure they'll get the best shots," said Turkoglu, who took only nine shots. "It's my game. I don't settle on nothing.
"I just see how I feel and just try to attack. If they help I'll find the guy for an open shot and that's teamwork. I find them open if they make it, we all look good; if they don't I'm still going to do the same thing."
The Pistons, who have now lost six straight, were simply over-matched from the start. Charlie Villanueva, who routinely blitzes his old Toronto team, missed all seven shots he took, hobbled by a sore right heel.
The Raptors forced 13 turnvoers that they turned into 18 points and also had four steals.
"We had very active hands," said Triano, still lamenting the fact the Pistons had 23 offensive rebounds. "I think we had 27 deflections by our count n the locker room, and good energy.
"We knew we were playing a team in a back-to-back and a team that traveled late and we had to make sure we win the energy games."
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