National Basketball Association
Toronto 94, New Orleans 87
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Officials: #53 CJ Washington, #36 Brent Barnaky, #10 Ron Garretson
Attendance: 14543

NEW ORLEANS -- Toronto coach Dwane Casey utilized a three-day minicamp in Miami to iron out some kinks in an offense decimated by injuries to All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry and forward DeMarre Carroll, forcing the Raptors to think of other ways to score rather than just rely on the scoring muscle of shooting guard DeMar DeRozan.

Apparently, Casey also spent a lot of practice time on defense.

Center Jonas Valanciunas scored a team-high 25 points, including four in a 9-0 run in the final 4:46, and the Raptors held New Orleans to 41 points and 38 percent shooting in the second half to defeat the Pelicans 94-87 Wednesday night at the Smoothie King Center.

The Raptors played such good defense that it didn't matter that DeRozan, averaging 27.6 points a game coming in, scored only 14 after missing six of his first seven shots.

"I thought we did a better job with our pick-and-roll coverage with our bigs," Casey said. "I thought that was Jonas' better games in the pick-and-roll, not allowing the splits, not allowing the deep penetration. I really liked our aggression in the second half. Our main focus was containing the ball."

Toronto's job was made much easier because Pelicans All-Star forward Anthony Davis, who had averaged 30.2 points in his previous five games, missed the entire second half with a bruised left wrist and finished with just seven points.

X-rays of Davis' wrist were negative, but New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said Davis would be listed as day-to-day.

The Pelicans (25-40) were led by center DeMarcus Cousins, who had 25 points and 10 rebounds, but they now have lost five of seven games since Cousins was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Sacramento during the All-Star break.

Gentry continued to be frustrated by the Pelicans offense, rated worst in the NBA for efficiency since the All-Star break. Aside from Cousins' 25 points, the Pelicans' bench outscored the four other starters 40-22. None of the other starters scored more than seven points.

"You can't expect to win a game scoring 87 points," Gentry said. "You've got to get the ball in the basket, and we didn't get the ball in the basket. You give up 94 points at home, you've got to win the game. You've got to find a way to get 95. Our defense was really good, but we can't score the basketball."

Davis fell hard to the floor at the end of the first half and appeared to hit the back of his head, but he also hurt the wrist trying to break his fall.

"I didn't see the fall, and I don't know the results either," Cousins said. "It definitely hurt us tonight, and with that being said, we have to find a way to pick up the pieces. It's unfortunate."

The Raptors (38-26) trailed 84-83 with five minutes left, but Patrick Patterson hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Valanciunas added an 18-foot jumper to put Toronto back out on top, 88-84, with 3:41 left. That was the beginning of an 11-3 spurt to end the game.

"We got stops, first and foremost, and once we got stops, we just got out and ran," DeRozan said. "It was me figuring out what was the easiest way for us to win. There's going to be nights where my shot's going to be off, but everything else I know how to do on the court and get things easy."

DeRozan said it was critically important for the Raptors to keep winning despite their injuries. They have gone 5-2 since Lowry underwent wrist surgery, which is expected to sideline him for a month.

"It's tough, but it's big that we can sustain it with them guys out, especially our point guard out for a substantial amount of time," he said. "It's on us to continue and be fully prepared once he comes back."

NOTES: Raptors F DeMarre Carroll sat out the game with a sprained left ankle. ... Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said he doesn't have any antidote to the team's shooting woes. The Pelicans have had the worst offensive efficiency in the NBA since the All-Star break. "I just think you've got to shoot them and you've got to shoot them with confidence, which I think we are," Gentry said. "This is not a really good time to be going through a tough stretch, as far as shooting, but we are doing that. We've just got to be able to step up there and make them." ... Toronto coach Dwane Casey said he believes the Pelicans will be able to get their Anthony Davis-DeMarcus Cousins offense to work at some point. "They have a lot of weapons, and it just takes time for things to come together," Casey said. "They've got the pieces, and once it does come together, it can make them really dangerous."
Top Game Performances
 
Toronto   New Orleans
Jonas Valanciunas 25 Scoring DeMarcus Cousins 25
DeMar DeRozan 6 Assists Jrue Holiday 6
Jonas Valanciunas 12 Rebounds DeMarcus Cousins 10
Jonas Valanciunas 7 Free Throws Made DeMarcus Cousins 6
DeMar DeRozan 3 Steals Jrue Holiday 3
Serge Ibaka 4 Blocks DeMarcus Cousins 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Toronto 94 47.4 8-21 14-23 21 42 6 6 12
New Orleans 87 42.5 9-29 10-13 22 40 3 6 14
Upcoming Games
  • New Orleans will play their next game on the road against Charlotte. The Pelicans have a W/L % of .320 after a win and .425 after a loss.
  • Toronto will play their next game on the road against Atlanta. The Raptors have a W/L % of .595 after a win and .593 after a loss.