Toronto bench triumphs as Raptors easily defeat Indiana
Jarrett Jack smiled over at his former Pacer teammates when he came in off the bench, foreshadowing what became his best effort of the season. Jack was 7 for 7 from the field, scoring 18 points and handing out 6 assists as the Raptors defeated Indiana 123 – 112.
“I felt extra energized,” Jack said. “That might have something to do with me playing against my old team, but I felt like I was in a good rhythm from the moment I was warming up with Coach Alvin Williams,” he continued. “I just came out firing, man. I just have to thank my teammates they found me on a lot of my open shots and I was able to knock them down.”
Jose Calderon also had a big game, scoring 21 points and dishing out 7 assists. The two guards played on the same line for key portions of the game, a combination that impressed Raptors Head Coach Jay Triano.
“I really liked when they were out there together,” Coach Jay Triano said. “At one point they were probably thinking they were competing for a position and now they realize they can play together on the floor as well as give each other relief.”
Last season, the Toronto Raptors had a choice between Calderon and T.J. Ford at the point. Ford was a selfish player, unable to come off the bench without feeling slighted while putting up lesser numbers than his teammate. Ford had 16 points last night but was ineffective against both Calderon and Jack when it counted, putting more pressure on Danny Granger to step up. Granger did his part, scoring a game high 36 points while fetching 9 boards, but it just wasn’t enough.
“They shot 55 percent tonight,” Granger said, also holding a copy of the box score. “I don’t even know what to say. We emphasized what we wanted to do. Sometimes we do it and sometimes we don’t and we didn’t do it tonight.”
Raptors rookie DeMar DeRozan continued to see his playing time diminish, scoring 8 points in just 10 minutes as a starter. Rasho Nesterovich finally got some quality playing time and used it productively, scoring 12 points to go along with 7 rebounds in 16 minutes. Chris Bosh struggled with his game but still had his twelfth double double of the year, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 boards in the victory for the Raps.
Toronto continues its heavy schedule today as they face off against the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Digital Reporter 