The Toronto Raptors needed a win badly, and that’s what they got – a bad win. But that’s markedly better than a good loss, and the mini-slump appears over. The Raptors shook off a display of poor shooting in Q1 to take a lead, which they never relinquished despite several Memphis runs.
The Memphis Grizzlies, a winning team though with a huge amount of roster turmoil, hung around this sluggish match longer than they should have. Fortunately the Raptors caught star guard Mike Conley on an off-night, and his Grizzlie mates didn’t have nearly enough offensive firepower to pick up the slack.