Players-only meetings really do fix everything! A night after getting blown out in embarrassing fashion by the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Raptors responded with an excellent defensive outing in Detroit. Led by P.J. Tucker’s relentless activity, they outscored Detroit 27-9 in the final quarter, winning 87-75.
Tucker’s eight points and nine rebounds don’t jump out at you, but his work on defense was the focal point of an effortful Toronto outing. The closing lineup of Cory Joseph, DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell, Serge Ibaka and Tucker was nothing short of brilliant.