The Toronto Raptors (25-15) defeated the Orlando Magic (20-19) 106-103 in overtime on Thursday afternoon in London.
When it was all said and done, the pair of guards who struggled throughout five periods bested the two with the hot hand. In an overtime thriller in London, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry played as if they'd left their shots back across the Atlantic, going a combined 9-for-39 from the field. Meanwhile, the Magic duo of Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier caught fire, particularly in the second half, to drain 18 of their 31 field-goal attempts. However, despite a game-high 27 points, Oladipo couldn't find the net when he needed it most, missing a 27-foot three-point jumper with two seconds left that would almost certainly would've given the Magic a 98-96 victory. He then subsequently lost the handle on a drive to the basket with a 1.7 seconds left in overtime as he attempted to tie the game at 105, essentially sealing Orlando's fate.
Lowry did manage to lead the Raptors with 24 points despite the subpar shooting performance, as he was able to drain 12 of 14 attempts from the charity stripe. He also hauled in eight rebounds, dished out seven assists, and tallied a block and a steal. DeRozan contributed a modest 13 points, but was outstanding on the boards, posting a season-high 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Jonas Valanciunas matched DeRozan's scoring total and added nine boards, two assists, a steal and three blocks, two of which were key stuffs of Nikola Vucevic in the fourth quarter and overtime, respectively. Luis Scola put together a solid contribution of 11 points, two rebounds and three steals, while three Raptors reserves were highly efficient. Corey Joseph led the way with 19 points, four assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals over a robust 36 minutes, while Bismack Biyombo and Patrick Patterson pitched in with a pair of 11-point outings. The latter's scoring partly consisted of a trio of three-pointers, which tied him with Scola for the team lead in that category on the afternoon.
The Raptors improved to 25-15 and remain atop the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division. They head back home to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.
Oladipo's 27 points were supplemented by six rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals. Fournier was right on his heels with 21 points, three assists, three rebounds and a steal. Nikola Vucevic posted a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double, which he complemented with four assists and three blocks. Tobias Harris nearly matched him point-for-point and board-for-board, tallying 16 on the scoreboard and hauling in 11 off the glass. He also dished out three assists and recorded a steal. Jason Smith was outstanding off the bench in the first half for Orlando with 16 points, but came up empty scoring-wise in the second half and the extra period. He did add five rebounds, four assists and a block.
The Magic fell to 20-19 and remain in third place in the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division. They take the long trip back home to face off against the division-leading Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
