Raptors post worst 2-point shooting night in franchise history

If Raptors fans are honest with themselves, they’ve been pretty spoiled so far this season.

Their squad has had the best record in the NBA for the majority of the campaign. Along the way, Toronto has knocked off Golden State twice and pulled off several exciting comebacks. Most recently, they crawled back from down 17 against the Miami Heat to win a Boxing Day thriller 106-104.

In Orlando on Friday night, they simply didn’t have the magic (pun intended, of course) touch. In fact, based on the numbers, they had no offensive touch whatsoever.

After shooting over 52 percent from the field and dropping 29 points in the opening Q, the offence dried up worse than my throat at 10 a.m. on New Year’s Day.

In the second and third quarters combined, Toronto only collected 34 points on 20.4 percent shooting. You don’t have to be a basketball expert to realize that those numbers aren’t what you would consider ideal.

By the time the game was 36 minutes old, the Raps found themselves down 92-63. At that moment, the absences of Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas were apparent. Most notably, Toronto was outscored 52-26 in the paint.

With the exception of Kawhi Leonard, who put together his 12th straight game of 20 or more points, Toronto’s starting group struggled to find their rhythm.

The injury bug continues to be a story for the squad. In their first 37 games, they’ve started 13 different lineups. The Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Association in that department with 15 and they’re currently last in the Eastern Conference with a record of 8-27.

In all honesty, it’s impressive that the Raptors have held on the way they have as of late. Their 116-87 loss to the Magic drops them to 5-5 in their last ten and 26-11 overall. They remain atop their conference, but just barely. The Milwaukee Bucks are hot on their heels at 24-10.

Leonard finished the game with 21 points, an impressive total considering the Magic completely focused defensively on the Raptors star while the rest of the team’s starters struggled.

The fourth-quarter performance of Canadian Chris Boucher was one of the few positives, though. The Montreal product went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc for nine points in nine minutes, a career-high for the 25-year-old.

The win breaks Orlando’s four-game losing streak. They improve to 15-19.

The Raptors will have a nice opportunity to rebound from arguably their worst outing this season once Sunday rolls around, as their matchup with the 10-26 Chicago Bulls could be just what the doctor ordered.

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