The Raptors came out for the second half of Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers looking like a completely different team. They were energetic, forced turnovers, and on a night when shots weren’t falling, their suffocating defence led to some easy buckets.
Down 30 at the break, the next 24 minutes would be spent whittling away at the deficit. With under 90 seconds to play, the Raptors pulled within four and while the comeback fell short in a 114-105 loss, the fact they even had a shot in the waning moments spoke to the team’s grit and some outside-the-box thinking from the head coach.