One – This was a seamless victory for the Raptors who are now 11-2 in their last 13 games. The Magic are last in the standings and although they beat the Raptors last month, the situation was completely different as the Raptors were missing a lot of players. The Raptors took the lead early, but could not get away with it, as the Magic have quietly placed in the top five in the defensive standings since the All-Star break. Orlando made a push at the start of the fourth quarter, but Nick Nurse quickly put an end to it by bringing back his basics to get the job done. The Raptors are now returning home for a four-game home ground to secure a place in the play-offs, having a three-game lead over Cleveland. Two – The Raptors once again won the possession game, converting 19 caps to 32 points to power their attack. Halfway through, the Raptors were quite disconnected and struggled to get into the color due to the size of the Magic in the middle between Mo Bamba and Robin Lopez, but were firmly able to gain the lead by overturning the Magic. Fred VanVleet continues to lead the effort, forcing nine more reversals in this game after pushing the Timberwolves to 11 in their final win. VanVleet was accredited for five steals, but also had another block under the basket against Bamba to erase a lay-up and change possession, while also chasing a couple of drivers in traveling offenses. VanVleet’s timing and aggression in catching double teams suddenly is impeccable. While his shooting rates remain low, his activity at the defensive end was the biggest driver in the last two victories of the team. Three – The Raptors played together for 30 minutes, which is the most used game of the season. It was the only team that worked, as the Raptors’ second unit was sluggish and confused every time they checked in. With the Raptors scoring 23 points in those 30 minutes, VanVleet’s five-man unit Gary Trent Jr., OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes return to the top of the year with a plus-6 in 345 minutes for the most used Raptors lineups. And while that number remains mediocre if not overwhelming, this game is a reminder that the data in the series is often too noisy to draw safe conclusions. In the victory over Minnesota, the initial group was ineffective and Ners left it for the second half, while in this victory, Ners brought back the basics for the last nine minutes of the fourth quarter to secure the victory. This game was one of the good nights, where the key players were all able to take their own attack and finish with a double digit number. Four – Barnes did a little of everything before closing hard. Barnes tends to be more reluctant to shoot when the team is healthy, choosing to set the table instead, but he broke that trend tonight. Whether it was attacking the glass, setting up hard screens and scrolling with intent, or even climbing the jumper, there was a remarkable effort on the part of Barnes to score. In the last two games of the game, Barnes looked at Shiakam to attack Baba from the dribble, forcing a foul on the 7-foot shot-blocker. Then, on the next trip, Barnes passed by Baba to explode for a two-handed duke in the basket. Part of his intention tonight could be to confess to having Floridian have family and friends in the building, but that’s exactly what Nurse has been asking Barnes all season. He finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists without overturning. Five – VanVleet is just three pounds away from breaking Kyle Lowry’s franchise record for most three-pointers in a season. This may explain why VanVleet was so aggressive with his shot, especially in the first half, as he finished the game with 16 attempts from deep with five shots to put himself within shooting distance. As it turns out, VanVleet sees his former teammate on Sunday in Lowry’s long-awaited return to Toronto, where he is likely to break the record given how much priority the Heat have to remove the paint and how much they play belt coverage. VanVleet has averaged 36 three-pointers in his last three games against Miami this season.
