Raps make it a tidy four wins in six nights with victory over Bulls

Article content

Four games in six nights are not easy to maneuver. Four WINS in six nights in the NBA is that much tougher, but that’s the kind of roll the Raptors are on right now.

Article content

Of course, with DeMar DeRozan on the other side, this was never going to be easy regardless, and DeRozan made sure of that forcing overtime with six points in the final 1:40 of regulation.

But in the overtime it was OG time as OG Anunoby hit a pair of three pointers early and then there was rookie Scottie Barnes going mano a mano with 6-foot-11, 260-pound monster Nikola Vucevic and bullying the bigger man down in the post before turning around for the lay-in.

It’s the type of basket that has Raptors’ fans salivating about what this team can become and it came in a 127-120 OT win.

Gary Trent Jr., the man whose 30-point streak ended at five games but the finishing touches on this one with a three-pointer to finish with 16 points and put the Raps up for good.

Article content

While Siakam had the team lead with 25 points, the Raptors also got 21 from Scottie Barnes, Anunob and VanVleet.

Vucevic led all scorers in the game with 30.

The Raptors have the chance for a very rare five-wins-in-seven nights run tomorrow when they host Atlanta in advance of a much-needed two-day break before they hit the floor again next Monday in Charlotte.

It was the first win by the Raptors this season against Chicago in three games and the Raptors needed a little something from everyone in this game, but the big boost came from the bench in the form of Chris Boucher.

Boucher, who has been on fire since that forgettable drubbing in Cleveland on Boxing Day providing energy and extra opportunities pretty much every time he hits the court.

Article content

Last night Boucher had 16 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. Four of those rebounds came on the offensive end where the Raptors outrebounded Chicago 21-7 leading to a night where the Raptors got up over 100 shots.

FRED GETS HIS CREDIT

When word finally reached the floor where the Raptors were warming up that Fred VanVleet had been selected by the coaches as an All-Star this year, the proceedings stopped as they should.

Teammates came over to hug him. The few fans in the building chanted his name and then in a move that is pure DeMar DeRozan, the starting all-star made his way down the court where his Bulls were warming up and hugged his former teammate and friend.

VanVleet’s story of hard work and perseverance is the kind of story that appeals to the masses and the masses in Toronto and just about anyone who has ever known VanVleet was no doubt on pins and needles as the Eastern Conference all-stars were unveiled.

Article content

With a surname starting with the fifth to last letter in the alphabet and the picks unveiled alphabetically there was plenty of extra time to get nervous but well worth the wait for the man who should be cashing royalty cheques for every athlete who has co-opted his Bet on Yourself motto.

VanVleet, a self-made man like few others, becomes the 8th Raptor named to the All-Star team and is the first undrafted player to earn this honour since Ben Wallace got there in 2006.

Left off, at least for now, from this all-star weekend is Pascal Siakam. Siakam, who missed the first 10 games of the season recovering from off-season shoulder surgery but has been playing the best basketball of his already solid career since, does have a chance to join VanVleet in the Game when commissioner Adam Silver makes his selection to replace the injured Eastern Conference team captain Kevin Durant.

Article content

Siakam will be up against the likes of Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball, both from a Charlotte team that has made the jump to a legitimate playoff team in the East. There’s also a deserving Domantas Sabonis in Indianapolis that was left off or even Jarrett Allen who has been a rock for the surprising Cleveland Cavaliers.

Silver will not have an easy time of it with that decision.

But for now, it’s time to celebrate the next jump in the career of VanVleet, a most deserving honour.

SIAKAM PUSH WAS REAL

Pascal Siakam was probably as much a victim of the Raptors middling record as anything else. With the coaches it often comes down as much to deserving teams as it does deserving individuals. So a team around .500 like the Raptors is less likely to get a second All-Star if there are teams above them in the standings with only a single all-star and there were plenty of examples of that.

Article content

The only teams that do have two starters in the East from the same team are Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Chicago. Miami, Philadelphia and Cleveland all have one All-Star and were above the Raptors in the standings. The Charlotte Hornets do not have a representative and they currently sit seventh in the conference, one spot ahead of Toronto.

Obviously, Raptors’ head coach Nick Nurse would be biased talking about one of his own players and their All-star chances, but he spoke passionately not just about the improvement in Siakam’s passing game and his offence, but his defence as well.

“I think that’s probably been the most noticeable,” he said of Siakam’s defence this season. “I know the numbers have been good and the assist numbers have been high at certain times and all those kind of things. To me, you’re right. There’s blocked shots. There are defensive plays being made on the perimeter and at the basket by him that he’s capable of. He’s long and he’s athletic and he’s quick, and those are the things that, to me, rose his level of overall play. Those are the things that stood out to me.”

BIRCH IS BACK

Khem Birch made his return to the lineup last night after a 10-game absence since breaking his nose courtesy of a Cade Cunningham elbow.

Birch wasn’t on any minutes restriction per se but with the limited practice time the Raptors have had of late, Birch hasn’t had a lot of on-court time so Nurse wasn’t expecting a huge minutes contribution from him but was looking forward to having a little more size and strength to deal with Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic.

[email protected]