(Jerryd Bayless, career high 31 points)
Toronto Raptors 120 Detroit Pistons 116
I won't regurgitate what has been written on so many blogs and sports sites about how the game played out last night. I will however focus on how this game played out for me, as a fan, on a historic night.
After a loss on Friday night against the Denver Nuggets, most were expecting the Raptors to make easy work of the Detroit Pistons. Detroit had also lost the night before, against Minnesota, and were out for a win on their home court. The game started out in regular NBA fashion, back and forth scoring, with the 1st quarter ending 29-28 in favor of the Pistons. By the end of the 2nd quarter, the Raptors had 13 turnovers, Detroit was ahead 72-53, Raptors point guard Jerryd Bayless could not keep Rodney Stuckey from scoring and other than a Leandro Barbosa buzzer beater to end the half, there were no Raptors highlights.
As someone who watches nearly every Raptors game, I have become accustomed to watching the Raptors lose in one of two ways. Either being completely blown out, which I was sure was about to happen, or lose a massive lead in the third quarter allowing their opponent to win in the fourth. I am not one to change the channel during a blow out as I know anything can happen in the NBA, but I did pull a book off my shelf that I had been putting off reading, cracked it open but kept my ears glued to the game. When I heard the Raptors broadcast team mention a 25 point lead for Detroit, I turned all my attention over to my book and prepared for yet another Raptors disappointment. Then I heard "21 point lead", then "Raptors down 16", then "Raptors down 11" and I had no choice but to look up, take notice and put down my book.
Two things caused this turnaround. Toronto played with determination and meaning while Detroit treated the final 6 minutes of the fourth quarter like a pre season game. Poor execution and sloppy play by Detroit provided me with the worst performance I have ever witnessed by a team to close out a game. A combination of 3 point plays by Andrea Bargnani, Amir Johnson and Jerryd Bayless sealed the 25 point comeback victory. Making the win even sweeter was Jerryd Bayless' career high 31 point scoring performance, in a game that was shaping up to be his worst in a Raptors uniform, from a defensive stand point.
Not the prettiest game I have ever seen by two struggling teams, and definitely not a game to brag about to your friends, but a 37-17 fourth quarter by the Raptors is one Toronto fans can and should be excited about. My only hope is that they won't need those type of comebacks too often throughout the rest of the season.
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