Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from big Game 3 win vs. Magic

2. Defense and Kyle Lowry saved the game

It feels weird saying the second-seeded team had to steal a Game 3 victory on the road in a very tight affair, but Friday night was exactly that. Just like Game 1 where Orlando was the team that came out on top, Game 3 in the final minutes was within one or two possessions.

Thanks to Kyle Lowry’s game-saving and most important offensive rebound after another Kawhi Leonard shot coming up short with less than a minute to play, the Raptors were able to gain another possession drain some clock and ultimately put the game away at the foul line.

It wasn’t just KLOE’s instrumental play that had a big part in the Raptors’ victory. The tenaciousness on the defensive end from Gasol against Vucevic essentially grounded him after all his success in the third quarter, and Siakam’s in-Terrence-Ross’-face defense helped stop any chance of a comeback. The defensive coverage was so tight, he was practically in his jersey, showing leaps and bounds improvement in his game.

Danny Green was vital in this win as well, since the defensive adjustment made in the second half of Game 1 to put him on D.J. Augustin, the unsung hero of Game 1, has been very effective. Green has held Augustin to 7.3 points per game on 6-of-17 shooting (35.3 percent) since the Game 1 second half adjustment. On the offensive end, Green had a great bounce-back game himself after being held scoreless in Game 2, posting 13 points.

Gasol’s box score statistics wouldn’t excite many, but his defense on Vucevic and his active hands garnered him another four steals. When Big Spain is on the floor, he improves the team’s net rating by 3.7. All these little things contributed  and impacted the game for the Toronto Raptors to come out with the win.