The Orlando Magic took Game 1 over the Toronto Raptors. Now they prepare for a refocused team and have to fix their own flaws ahead of Game 2. The Orlando Magic shocked the NBA world on a Saturday full of upsets to open the NBA Playoffs. They sent a crowd at Scotiabank Arena ready to see their team take the next step into a stunned silence. It was not merely that the Magic won. It was that they outdueled their prized new possession in Kawhi Leonard at the end. It was D.J. Augustin, a castoff from the Toronto Raptors just at the point their franchise began to turn the corner who sent them into silence. D.J. Augustin read a pick and roll perfectly as the Raptors confused their coverage and drained a 3-pointer. He let out a fist pump and guttural roar as Evan Fournier screamed something (he does not remember what). The Magic got the stop and walked out with a 104-101 win. Magic fans in Orlando have celebrated that moment ever since. The energy in the city is palpable as excitement over the team is at the highest it has been since Dwight Howard left in 2012. The Magic are having a moment. And Friday’s Game 3 will find a rocking Amway Center. Imagine what the Amway Center would sound like with a 2-0 series lead. The Magic are not thinking that far ahead. Their focus has been on Game 2. And in true Steve Clifford fashion, the Magic are not taking their Game 1 victory for granted. Clifford has spent his sessions with the media telling them all the bad signs that were raised in Game 1. The team’s offense was inefficient in the second half, Kyle Lowry will certainly not play another poor shooting game and Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross were non-factors offensively throughout the game. This is not a formula for a win. The Raptors erased a 16-point deficit after all in the second half. While the Magic were able to eke out the win, they certainly see plenty of things they must fix and correct if they want to win Game 2. Perhaps the most important thing they discovered in that Game 1 win is that they can win this series. They have discovered they have a fight they always knew that can translate to the playoffs. And if everyone did not know, now they know, the Magic can win this series. As Game 2 gets set to tip-off, the Magic will have to remember this and work to correct their mistakes from Game 1.<doc-sep>That was a little more like it. The 2018-29 Toronto Raptors, Playoff Version — the version that we all expected to see on Saturday — made its first appearance on Tuesday night, stomping the Magic into oblivion behind an all-time performance from Kawhi Leonard. Here’s what I thought of the proceedings: Best Raptors Playoff Performance Ever? Kawhi Leonard’s 37 points (on 22 shots! ), four rebound, four assist and two steal performance was just incredible. It seemed effortless, it seemed like every time he put the ball up it was going in, that there was nothing the Magic could do to slow him down. It was everything we wanted when we heard the Raptors had acquired him. I wonder where it fits on the pantheon of all-time great performances though. I don’t think it’s better than Vince Carter’s 50 against Philadelphia in 2001; that was in the second round, so the stakes were higher, and you know, it’s 50 freakin’ points. Is it ahead of Lowry’s Game 7 against Miami in 2016? Lowry finished that game with 35-7-9-4, on 20 shots, and again, the stakes in that game were much, much higher. Third-best Raptors playoff performance of all time? Sounds right to me. Off-the-charts Intensity One of my biggest complaints about Toronto’s Game 1 performance was the lack of intensity they showed, like they expected it to be easy. No such issue last night! Right from the opening tip, Toronto was everywhere, trapping Magic ballhandlers, cutting off driving angles, knocking balls away and intercepting passes. Individually, the Raptors continue to take away the Magic’s lone All-Star, Nikola Vucevic, with solid 1:1 play from Marc Gasol and smart, aggressive and timely doubles. And the guy that killed them last game? Pascal Siakam was switched onto D.J. Augustin several times in the first half and just completely wiped him off the map. Augustin didn’t score until the third quarter, where he dropped in all (ahem) four of his points. Toronto held the Magic to a true shooting percentage of 44% and their defensive rating was 87.2. They forced 17 turnovers, deflected 16 passes, recovered nine loose balls and drew two charges. It was one of, if not the best, sustained defensive efforts I’ve seen from the team all year. Everybody’s Favourite Show? It’s the Ref Show! Boy, there were a lot of fouls called in that game, weren’t there? I think we all expected a poorly officiated game when we saw Marc Davis was on the crew! But individual calls aside, I was really disappointed in the tight whistle right at the start. The Raptors were rolling, beating the Magic 9-0, and the whistle kept blowing — on some pretty ticky-tack fouls. These are the sorts of moments that I think give fans pause; it’s a fast, free-flowing game, where you wouldn’t normally see a lot of fouls, and yet the whistle keeps blowing? It makes you think the officials are trying to keep things close, to prevent one team from getting too far ahead too early. I don’t actually think that’s the case; incompetence is the much more likely explanation. But it absolutely stinks from a fan’s perspective. One other thing — sometimes Kyle Lowry’s foul-hunting is a little too much, even for a huge Lowry fan like me. Last night in the second, after the officials ignored missed a goaltending call on a Norman Powell layup, the Raptors were barking, the crowd was ready to riot, and on the ensuing possession... Lowry tried to bait the refs into a foul by taking an obvious “please call this foul, look at me flailing” three-pointer. There’s no way they were going to call anything there. Lowry has to know that! The refs are getting roasted, the whistle isn’t going your way, there’s no way they’re going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Thumbs up for Lineup Distribution After only playing Kawhi Leonard for 33 minutes in Game 1, Nick Nurse indicated he’d have Leonard out there for longer in Game 2. Leonard ended up with... 33 minutes last night! But that was a product of A) some bad calls, which sent Leonard to the bench early with foul trouble and B) the blowout, which meant Leonard only needed a few minutes in the fourth. Those foul calls also meant that the first quarter finished with a Siakam+bench group, which has been generally terrible, and I don’t think should see floor time anymore — but I think Nurse was planning on that being a Leonard-Siakam+bench group, as that’s what we saw at the end of the third. Instead we got a Lowry-Leonard+bench group to start the second, which feels just fine. And to start the fourth we had Lowry and Siakam with the bench, which is also just fine. If the Raptors can manage to keep two of Lowry, Gasol, Siakam and Leonard on the floor together at all times, then I really think they should be able to end this series quickly. So... Raptors in Five? With these two games out of the way, I’m unsure how to feel about this series. What we saw last night was what I originally expected, but since we didn’t get that in Game 1, I’m not confident we’ll see it in Game 3 or beyond. I remain convinced the Raptors will win this series, even if they don’t play at the same high level again. The talent disparity just leans so heavily in Toronto’s favour. Game 1 still feels mostly like an annoyance, rather than a harbinger of any real issues against Orlando. But still... there’s that little crack of doubt back there in the dark corners of my mind, thanks to that lacklustre performance on Saturday. Could it happen again? Three more times? Probably not! But it happened once, so it’s not impossible... I think this is why I’m so annoyed by Game 1. I don’t want to have any doubts, regardless of how small they are.<doc-sep>After suffering a three-point loss in Game 1, the Toronto Raptors bounced back in a major way, earning a 29-point win to even things up in Game 2. If you missed any of the action, check below for live score updates, highlights and stats from throughout the night. After losing in the final seconds in Game 1, Toronto bounced back to even the series up at one game apiece as the series shifts to Orlando, where the Magic haven't lost since Feb. 22. Kawhi Leonard led the way for Toronto with 37 points in a dominant performance. Kyle Lowry, who was held scoreless in Game 1, also bounced back by scoring 22 points to go along with seven assists and four rebounds. If you missed any of the action, check below for live score updates, highlights and stats from throughout the night… What to watch for | Box score | Play-by-play Final: Raptors 111, Magic 82 10:30 p.m. - Final stats: https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/f3/27/raptors-magic-game-2finalbox_tu9netd53i0m1ovudstr4s9qn.png?t=691231210&w=500 10:24 p.m. - There's a timeout on the floor with 2:36 remaining in regulation and the Raptors are up 107-75. 10:14 p.m. - We're past the midway point of the fourth and the Raptors call for a timeout with a 29-point lead. It's 102-73 with 5:52 remaining. All signs indicate that this series will head to Orlando tied up. 10:08 p.m. - Just over seven minutes remain in the game and the Raptors' lead has ballooned to 32 points. There's a foul under review on the floor, but Toronto leads 101-69 with 7:12 left in regulation. End of Third Quarter: Raptors 90, Magic 66 9:57 p.m. - The Raptors use a dominant third quarter performance to take a 24-point lead into the final frame. Kawhi Leonard scored 17 of his 34 points on the night in the third frame and has only missed four of his 18 shot attempts on the night. Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam each have 19 points through three and are the only other Raptors to score in double figures thus far. Aaron Gordon has a team-high 20 points for Orlando while Terrence Ross has 15 points, but he failed to score in the third quarter. 9:46 p.m. - Kyle Lowry lays it in to put the Raptors up 23 with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter. He now has 19 points on the night. Steve Clifford calls for a timeout as Toronto leads 81-58 with 4:06 left in the third. 9:45 p.m. - Kawhi Leonard turns defence into offence, scoring a transition layup for his 12th points of the quarter and his 29th on the night. Toronto is now up 76-55 with five minutes remaining in the third. 9:36 p.m. - Kawhi Leonard drives the lane for a dunk and the Raptors have built a 19-point lead less than four minutes into the third quarter. Take it to the rack, Kawhi! 🔨 He's got 27 PTS & counting for the @Raptors on TNT! #WeTheNorth | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/AsQjE7QnoP - NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 17, 2019 Leonard is up to 27 points (on 11-for-13 shooting) on the night and Toronto now leads 66-47 with 8:04 remaining in the frame. Timeout Orlando. Halftime: Raptors 51, Magic 39 9:15 p.m. - Halftime stats: https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/66/de/raptors-magic-game-2-halftime-box_1w5nykqnd1oj51dglc7ukpn7ms.png?t=685813018&w=500 9:13 p.m. - Toronto takes a 12-point lead into the half after leading by as many as 16 points in the second frame. Kawhi Leonard leads all scorers with 17 points and is one of just four Raptors to have scored so far. Kyle Lowry has 15 points, Pascal Siakam has scored 12 points and Serge Ibaka has added seven points off the bench. Terrence Ross's 15 points leads the way for the Magic, who have also benefitted from 12 points from Aaron Gordon. All-Star Nikola Vucevic finished the half with just two points, three rebounds and two assists. 9:05 p.m. - A big transition dunk off of an excellent pass from Kyle Lowry gives the Raptors a 14-point lead, tying their largest lead of the night. It's 47-33 with 2:33 remaining in the half and the Magic call for timeout. Toronto now has three scorers in double figures: Kawhi Leonard leads the way with 17 while Kyle Lowry has 13 points and Pascal Siakam has added 10. 9:00 p.m. - Danny Green heads to the bench after picking up his third foul of the night and will likely sit for the remainder of the first half. Green and Kawhi Leonard both have three fouls while Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Norman Powell each have three fouls apiece. 8:55 p.m. - Nikola Vucevic scores his first points of the night with a dunk that cuts the deficit to 10 points. Toronto leads 38-28 with 4:56 remaining in the half. Timeout on the floor. Kyle Lowry is up to 11 points (on 4-for-6 shooting) on the night and has added three assists and two rebounds. For Orlando, Terrence Ross is firing on all cylinders as he now has 15 points (on 5-for-7 shooting) in 12 minutes. 8:47 p.m. - The Raptors have used a 7-0 run to get out to a 36-23 lead less than four minutes into the second quarter. Timeout Magic. Kawhi Leonard is up to 14 points on the night while the Magic's Terrence Ross now has a team-high 12 points. 8:45 p.m. - Kawhi Leonard picks up his third foul of the night with over 10 minutes remaining in the first half. His foul trouble will continue to be something to monitor as the game goes on. End of First Quarter: Raptors 26, Magic 18 8:40 p.m. - Thanks to 12 points and three assists from Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors will head into the second quarter with a 26-18 lead over the Magic. Kawhi (12 PTS, 5/7 FG) leads all scorers at the end of the 1st Q! #WeTheNorth 📺: @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/QrQXuBCk5Z - NBA (@NBA) April 17, 2019 In addition to Leonard, Pascal Siakam has added six points and three rebounds while Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry have each scored four points apiece.<doc-sep>TORONTO -- Just over a minute into Game 2 against the Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry sniffed out a mismatch against center Nikola Vucevic and went to work. Lowry, who had been held scoreless in Game 1, collected the dribble-handoff from teammate Marc Gasol and drove into the body of the Magic's big man, hurling the ball over his shoulder at the rim as he tumbled toward the baseline. As Lowry ambled to the line, the Toronto crowd cheered in anticipation of his first point of the series. After his first free throw attempt missed, the applause reached a crescendo, climaxing as the second shot fell through the net. The moment was a portrait of Raptors fanhood -- a combination of encouragement for a player who has built an All-Star career over seven seasons in Toronto, with a pinch of salt mined from years of postseason anxiety. Kyle Lowry: Game 1 vs. Game 2 Game 1 Game 2 Points 0 22 Field goals 0-7 8-13 Uncontested FGM 0 7* * most in a playoff game since May 23, 2016 Over the next 47 minutes, Lowry would tack on another 21 points, and Kawhi Leonard led all scorers with 37, as the Raptors roared back with a dominant 111-82 victory to square the first-round series at 1-1. "That is [Lowry] at his finest," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "Tonight he was charging up the floor and pushing the ball, passing, shooting, driving, kicking, made steals, hands on everything, rebounded. He was doing it all." Lowry wasn't alone. On Tuesday, the Raptors embodied the best version of themselves -- a versatile, veteran-savvy team featuring five elite defenders who can also slice you up offensively in the half court. In the intervening days between Games 1 and 2, the Raptors' players and staff emphasized the need to decongest a long Orlando defense that afforded them no half-court elbow room in Saturday's loss. On Tuesday night, the Raptors executed that design to perfection with snappy ball reversals and relentless penetration resulting in either close-range shots or kickouts to open shooters. "You get to kind of marinate on Game 1 for a couple of days," Gasol said. "[Then] you come out with a lot of energy and discipline and execute the game plan like we did." Leonard hummed along at maximum efficiency -- 15-for-22 from the field (4-for-8 from beyond the arc), four rebounds, four assists, a couple of steals and only a single turnover. He appeared spry, inexhaustible and entirely comfortable in the confines of a Toronto offense that flowed effortlessly. Most Points in a Game, Raptors Postseason History Kawhi Leonard scored 37 points in Toronto's Game 2 win, tied for the fourth most in a game in Raptors playoff history. Only Vince Carter and Chris Bosh had more. YEAR PLAYER PTS. OPP. 2001 Vince Carter 50 76ers 2008 Chris Bosh 39 Magic 2001 Vince Carter 39 76ers 2019 Kawhi Leonard 37 Magic 2018 DeMar DeRozan 37 Wizards 2017 DeMar DeRozan 37 Cavaliers Though Leonard reveals virtually no emotion in his postgame remarks, his sparse comments offer insights into how he assembles the sort of performance that paced the Raptors on Tuesday night. Asked how he was able to exploit Orlando forward Aaron Gordon, Leonard replied that the effort wasn't a mastery of a specific defender so much as a result of good judgment. "Just playing within the offense," Leonard said. "Just reading angles, reading the backside of the defense. Just trying to get into the paint. They're a good defensive team. They help each other. Really, just trying to play team basketball, get to my spots, see if I draw two [defenders]. If I do -- just pass it." In a series of sentence fragments with little expression, Leonard verbally sketched the tactical decision-tree that empowered him, and the Raptors, to maintain control of a game in which they never trailed. Gasol is another case study in how the Raptors can dice up opponents this spring through smarts and precision. The Raptors' veteran center, acquired midseason from the Memphis Grizzlies, posted a 3-for-5 shooting line in 22 minutes -- every make was from deep -- but that belied his overall net effect. As an example, Gasol orchestrated two gorgeous possessions from the top of the floor: the first when he darted a bounce pass to Lowry on a baseline basket cut for an easy layup in the second quarter, the next a fluttering lob to Leonard for an alley-oop and-1 just after intermission. Both were emotional touchstones Tuesday night. With the arrival of Leonard and Gasol, the maturation of Pascal Siakam (19 points and 10 rebounds on Tuesday), the perpetual motion of Danny Green, the Raptors have, in a few short seasons, evolved from an iso-heavy outfit to one that can beat teams with the pass. Kyle Lowry broke out of a mini one-game slump with 22 points in Toronto's Game 2 win. Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images On the other end of the floor, Gasol effectively took Vucevic out of the game, leaving the Magic's offense groping in the half court against a more physical Raptors defense. "I got the ball in some decent spots in the post a few times and they double-teamed me early," Vucevic said. "It makes it hard for me to create anything and they do a good job taking away a lot of my strengths. I've just gotta figure it out, find a way to be more aggressive and more efficient offensively." Toronto held Orlando to an anemic effective field goal percentage of 42.6, and surrendered only 21 attempts at the rim all game. In Game 1, the Raptors produced a decent performance against the Magic's pick-and-roll attack (yielding 1.02 points per direct pick), but in Game 2, the Toronto's schemes stifled D.J. Augustin and the rest of the Orlando ball handlers. The Magic generated only 0.78 points per direct pick, with Augustin following a 25-point outing in Game 1 with only nine points on one field goal made in Game 2.<doc-sep>
The Raptors lost Game 1 of their first-round series with the Magic in stunning fashion. What can Toronto do in Game 2 to even the series before going to Orlando? The Orlando Magic stunned the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, winning Game 1 of their first-round series by a final score of 104-101. The Raptors came out strong but found themselves trailing by as many as 16 points in the second quarter following a huge Magic run. They regained control of the game in third, which set up a back-and-forth affair in the fourth. While Kawhi Leonard put the Raptors in position to win the game, it was D.J. Augustin who stole the show. The Raptors will have an opportunity to even the series in Toronto on Tuesday. Before they do, let's take a look at five things to watch in Game 2... Can D.J. Augustin do it again? Game 1 was all about Augustin. He finished with 25 points, which tied his playoff career-high set back in 2013-14. It also tied him with Leonard for game-high honours in scoring. Augustin was at his best down the stretch for the Magic, when he scored the final five points of the game, including the game-winning 3-pointer. According to Basketball Reference, it was only the second time in his career that he's hit a shot with five seconds or less remaining in the fourth quarter or overtime to win a game. Augustin had one of the better seasons of his career in 2018-19, but his Game 1 performance was more of an anomaly than the norm. He only scored 20-plus points in seven games this season, his season-high being 27. More importantly for the Raptors, the last time Augustin scored 20 or more points in consecutive games was four years ago. Will the Raptors attack D.J. Augustin on defence? One way in which the Raptors could counter another breakout game for Augustin would be by targeting him more on defence. It's not something they did often in Game 1. One of the few times actually came with just over a minute remaining in the game, when Danny Green tried to post Augustin up. It appeared as though Leonard then called for Green to set a screen, but he instead cleared out, paving the way for Leonard to attack Aaron Gordon in isolation. https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/d2/c/danny-041419-ftr-gettyjpg_172q9obrlxvpj1835rpusedpu7.jpg?t=471584002&w=500 The Raptors don't want to venture too far away from their normal offence, but they could get the 6-foot guard involved in more pick-and-rolls with Leonard or Pascal Siakam as the ball handler or screeners in the hopes of creating a mismatch. Even if those two aren't able to score every time in those situations, it would likely lead to high-quality shots for others, as it would force the Magic to provide the type of help that would create open shots for Green, Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol and others. In which case, it would force Orlando head coach Steve Clifford to make a tough decision - does he keep Augustin on the floor or does he give more minutes to Michael Carter-Williams? Carter-Williams is a much better defender but a far worse offensive player. Will someone else step up for the Magic? Nikola Vucevic was Orlando's leading scorer this season with 20.8 points per game. In Game 1, the All-Star big man was held to 11 points on 3-for-14 shooting from the field. A lot of those misses came against Gasol. Vucevic has a size advantage against most of his opponents, but Gasol has both the strength and length to make him uncomfortable in the post, where he ranked among the league leaders in scoring during the regular season. With how well Gasol matches up with Vucevic in the post, it'll be interesting to see if the Magic try to get him going by putting him in more pick-and-rolls in Game 2. Gasol is at his best when he's holding down the paint, so Vucevic's ability to pick-and-pop could force him to venture out further than he's used to. In addition to Vucevic, Terrence Ross had a quieter game than usual on Saturday. In his 24 minutes in Game 1, he scored 10 points off the bench on 2-for-11 shooting from the field and 1-for-5 from 3-point range. Like Vucevic, Ross is coming off of the best season of his career. He averaged a career-high 15.1 points per game and came close to breaking the record for the most 3-pointers made by a bench player in a single season.