The Toronto Raptors survived a late scare to overcome the Magic in Orlando on Thursday (AEDT), winning 117-104 to move to 43-17 on the season.
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DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 21 points, with five other Raptors players also hitting double digits in points. The Magic trailed for most of the contest but claimed a one-point lead early in the fourth quarter that woke up the East-leading Raptors and led to a late surge by the visitors.
The victory allowed Toronto to maintain a half-game lead on the Boston Celtics in a tight race atop the conference.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday's game:
All the stars are closer
Another Raptors victory, another big night for Toronto's All-Star backcourt.
DeRozan and Lowry combined for 38 points and each put their own imprint on the game.
Lowry led all players with four 3-pointers on 50 percent shooting from behind the arc, while DeRozan was a killer from the free throw line.
Magical G-Shakes. pic.twitter.com/tjbWpxttNB
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 1, 2018
DeRozan hit nine of his 11 trips to the line on a night when his long distance shooting was non-existent.
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Raptors rookie OG Anunoby looked lively against the Magic, hitting all three of his shot attempts, grabbing a pair of rebounds and dishing out an assist in 10:22 on the floor. Anunoby looked to be on the way to a stellar game when he landed awkwardly on what ended up being his final made basket of the game and rolled his right ankle.
The 20-year-old was forced to leave the game with a sprain of the same ankle he injured earlier this month.
Bench mob returns
When a starter goes down, Toronto has shown the depth to compensate.
The Raptors' "bench mob" stepped up in a big way, even while the team's heavy hitters were performing. Jakob Poeltl's stellar first half (11 points, three assists, two steals and 100 percent from the field) sparked the second unit, with the Austrian finishing at plus-13 on the night.
Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet were also instrumental in the win, chipping in 14 and 12 points, respectively.