Written by Spencer Redmond at Raptors Republic
The Raptors had a huge win in game four on the road, tying the series up in a must win game. Going back home for game five, the Raptors were still in control of home court advantage for the rest of the series. Playing in front of an energetic Air Canada Centre, the Raptors propelled themselves for the series first back-to-back win by any team, taking the series 3-2 lead, heading back onto the road Thursday. Game four was important, game five was just as important.
The adjustments the Raptors made between games was huge, and they stuck to their game plan in game five, inserting Norman Powell in the starting lineup for Jonas Valanciunas. I wrote about the Raptors new rotations yesterday in an article you can read here, the new look starting lineup got the job done again. Each member of the starting unit had great games, Ibaka’s great defense at the rim, tenacious dunks in the pick and roll, and productive scoring all game provided the Raptors some much needed stability on both ends. DeMarre Carroll also had his best game of the playoffs thus far, helping the Raptors take an early lead in the first quarter. Carroll has taken a lot of slack in this series for his struggles with his shot and on the defensive end, but he came up big in the first quarter. With some stellar defense, a great tip-in layup, and some tough jumpers, hopefully this game is what gets Carroll back on track. Overall in the game, the starting unit played 17:32 together, to an amazing +18.
The All-Star backcourt played a huge role throughout the game, Lowry was a team high +29, finishing with 16 points on 4/9 shooting from the field, and 10 assists. Lowry entered the game with a sore back, other than the first few minutes, it didn’t seem to bother him at all. DeMar DeRozan didn’t have a huge scoring game but was very efficient from the field, finishing the game 7/14 with 18 points, and even added 6 assists. DeRozan did a great job at recognizing traps, and helped start a lot of the Raptors great ball movement which kept the Bucks defense on their toes.
And then there was Norman Powell. After a huge game four, Powell was the player of the game for game five. Finishing the game with a team-high 25 points, on 8/11 shooting (4/4 from three), 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Powell was unbelievable on the defensive end, had some great passing out of the pick and roll, and gave the Raptors amazing energy with clutch shots and some massive throw downs. Powell has been huge in these back-to-back wins, for a second-year player who doesn’t get the most consistent playing time, he looks incredibly poised, making sound decisions as a primary ball handler.
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