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Raptors Flex Defensive Might to Eke Out Exhausting Triple-Overtime Victory Over Heat
Sure, the Toronto Raptors knew Gary Trent Jr. could score when they traded for him at last year's trade deadline. His shot selection needed some work, but the offense certainly wasn't a concern.
The same, however, couldn't be said about his defense.
Trent wasn't just a defensive weakness last year, he was awful. Pick your advanced statistic, it doesn't matter. All of them suggested Trent was horrendous defensively. If the trade was going to work out for Toronto, that's where Trent was going to have to prove something.
It's why Raptors coach Nick Nurse pulled Trent aside during a Vegas workout last summer to reinforce the importance of playing both sides of the ball.
"We were just sitting on the side talking. I said, ‘This is how we do it. This is what we’re gonna do,’" Nurse recalled earlier this month. "And he kind of said, ‘You (want me) to do all that and score, as well?’ I said, ‘Yeah. We want you to play that hard and still score.’ He said, ‘That’s a lot of work, man.’ I said, ‘Yeah it is, man.’"
Well, a 124-120 triple-overtime victory over the Miami Heat showed just how far Trent has come on the defensive end. loss to the Miami Heat
Trent got to work early, picking the pocket of Bam Adebayo at mid-court for a quick layup in the first quarter. He added a pair of steals of Adebayo and Jimmy Butler in the second. In the third, he turned it up even more, intercepting a Duncan Robinson pass for a transition layup and poked the ball loose from Tyler Herro for his fifth steal. Moments later he drew a pair of offensive fouls including a perfect closeout on Butler in the final seconds of the third quarter that forced Butler into a turnover.
"Gary was working hard, man," Nurse said. "He was locked in and it’s one thing I’ve said, he competes, man. He really competes. He's tough and he competes to win and he plays hard."
While Trent's defense is certainly the most promising development for the Raptors, his shot selection appears to be taking a step forward too. His 33 points came courtesy of 13-for-28 shooting with nine of his 13 buckets coming either at the rim or behind the arc.
Trent's big-time performance gave way to a wild triple-overtime showing that saw Scottie Barnes nail a pair of clutch free throws to force the extra frame, Trent force double overtime with a pair of free throws of his own, and a timeout from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra erase a would-be game-winner that forced triple overtime. Eventually, Fred VanVleet came alive, erasing what had been a dreadful shooting night with clutch three-pointers one after another as Toronto eked out the exhausting victory.
Siakam & Anunoby Star Defensively
Trent wasn't the only one putting on a defensive show Saturday. Both Siakam and Anunoby were swarming in the extra frames, taking turns holding Butler in check as the clock wound down. Siakam stuffed Butler on back-to-back shot attempts in the final minutes of regulation and Anunoby poked the ball loose from Adebayo to snuff out a Heat possession late in triple overtime.
Crazy Minutes
The Raptors made their final substitution of the game at 8:44 to go in the fourth quarter and Nurse said he never really considered making another substitution.
"You don't expect it to just keep going into another, another, another," Nurse said. "You think, oh, you’ve got five more minutes to play and you're gonna probably ride it there, and then it keeps happening."
All five of Toronto's starters set career highs in minutes played and eclipsed 50 minutes played for the first time in NBA history. Siakam led the way at 56 minutes played with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Lowry Remains Out
Kyle Lowry missed Saturday's game due to personal reasons.
Up Next: Atlanta Hawks
The Raptors will have the day off before starting a back-to-back Monday night first against the Atlanta Hawks before the Heat come to town for a rematch Tuesday evening.
