Robbed of a lot of their depth, the Toronto Raptors went with their tried and true veterans in Detroit on Wednesday night.
It worked.
A Fred VanVleet corner jumper, set up by a DeMar DeRozan drive that attracted every available defender, lifted the Raptors to a 121-119 victory over the Pistons that clinched an Eastern Conference playoff spot for Toronto.
DeRozan, who finished with 42 points on a wonderful night, went coast-to-coast on the final decisive possession and kicked the ball to VanVleet, who buried the game winner as Toronto won its fifth straight game and 13th in their last 14 outings.