(SportsNetwork.com) – The Toronto Raptors will try to continue their hot start
when they entertain the Orlando Magic Tuesday at Air Canada Centre.
The Raptors are 6-1 on the season and improved to 2-0 on a franchise-record
seven-game homestand with Sunday’s 120-88 beating of the Philadelphia 7ers.
DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, Terrence Ross netted 17 and Lou Williams added
16 off the bench for the Raptors, who shot a sizzling 56.6 percent from the
floor and scored 28 points off 20 Philadelphia turnovers. Kyle Lowry scored 14
points and Greivis Vasquez added 13 in the win.
“Our intensity during the whole game was good,” Lowry said. “I think that’s
how you get better as a team.”
Toronto is first in the Atlantic Division and off to the best start in
franchise history. The Raptors lead the NBA scoring 107.4 points per game.
DeRozan needs 20 points to pass Andrea Bargnani (6,561) for third place on the
Raptors’ all-time scoring list.
The Raptors will also host Chicago, Utah, Memphis and Milwaukee on the
homestand.
Orlando had a two-game winning streak stopped with Sunday’s 104-96 loss at
Brooklyn in the opener of a three-game road trip. Nik Vucevic had 27 points
and 12 rebounds, while Evan Fournier ended with 19 points in defeat.
“We didn’t help ourselves in our discipline and execution on both ends of the
floor,” Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said.
The Magic shot 52 percent from the field and made 8-of-15 3-pointers in their
fifth loss in the last seven tries. They will visit New York on Wednesday to
close out a three-game road trip.
Toronto defeated Orlando, 108-95, on Nov. 1 in the Magic Kingdom, as DeRozan
scored 26 points and Lowry added 21. Fournier paced the Magic with 18 points.
Orlando has lost eight in a row to the Raptors, who are 11-4 in the last 15
matchups in this series. The Magic have lost four in a row at Air Canada
Centre.
