Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from bounce-back Game 2 vs. Magic

3. Defense fuels offense

The Toronto Raptors were absolutely fantastic on the defensive side of the court. That strong defense fueled their strongest form of their offense — in transition. The Raptors in the regular season averaged eight steals a night. In Game 2, they had 10. They forced Orlando, which is normally a low-turnover team, to 17 on the night, which led to 26 points for Toronto.

On a night where the whistle was in favor of Orlando (23-18 fouls called), it never fazed the Raptors’ aggression. They held the Magic shooters to 37 percent shooting from the floor and 26.5 percent from beyond the arc. Compared to Game 1, when they gave up 40 percent shooting from the field and 48.3 percent from 3, this was a significant decrease.

The activity on the defensive end allowed the Raptors to run the court in transition and do what they do best: draw fouls or find the open man for a wide open shot or drive to the hoop.

Marc Gasol was a big (no pun intended) reason why the team was so successful on the defensive end. He had a game-high four steals to go along with nine points, five helpers and three rebounds.

Despite Gasol being in early foul trouble, along with Siakam, Leonard and Green, he was extremely effective against his All-Star assignment, Nikola Vucevic, who was held to six points and turned the ball over four times. As a collective, the Raptors were dialed in on defense, and showed the basketball world what they can do when they are.