Danny Green leads Toronto past Memphis for ninth straight home victory

“It was fun to hear and the fans really showed a lot of love and that makes us tough to play because of how much energy they give us.”

And the love from the Toronto faithful paled in comparison to the last time Green heard his name being called from the stands.

“Probably my dad but it wasn’t a positive cheer,” Green said. “Critical, criticizing, coaching, what you need to do better type of cheer.

“You could hear him anywhere in the stands . . . there could be 20,000 people out there and you know your parents’ voice.”

Toronto (35-13) improved its home record to 20-4. Serge Ibaka had 18 points and Pascal Siakam added 17 for the Raptors, who’ve won seven-of-eight contests overall.

Kawhi Leonard (load management) missed a second straight game for Toronto, which shot 44-of-91 from the field and 17-of-36 from three-point range.

Jaren Jackson Jr., had 16 points for Memphis (19-27), which has lost five straight overall and seven consecutive road games. The Grizzlies also committed a season-high 26 turnovers that led to 38 Toronto points.

Toronto also outscored Memphis 48-34 in the paint and a whopping 30-6 in fast-break points.

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said it was nice to see his club secure a comfortable win.

“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “Every time there’s a close game I sit up here or go home and say, ‘It’s good for us to go through it,’ but we’ll take one of these for sure once in a while.

“We hadn’t had one like that in a while. It was good to see some of our shooters make some shots.”

After Green left the game, Delon Wright kept the three-point barrage going, hitting from beyond the arc to put Toronto ahead 93-62. And Kyle Lowry’s layup in the dying seconds earned the Raptors their 38-point advantage heading into the fourth.

Toronto opened the third with a 10-0 run for a 65-51 lead. Siakam scored seven points before Memphis’s JaMychal Green countered with a three-pointer.

But that didn’t stop Toronto, which surged ahead 77-55 on Green’s three-pointer to outscore Memphis 20-7 before the Grizzlies took a timeout at 6:18.

“I’m not surprised I missed,” Green said. “I was more surprised I hit seven in nine attempts but my teammates did a good job of finding me.

“There were a lot of open ones, it wasn’t like they were tough contested or difficult shots. Just run the floor, get to the corner, get to space.”

Once Green got on a roll, Nurse said he made a point of riding the hot hand.

“They’re a heavy-help team and we were getting in the paint and their system is to collapse and we kept finding him,” Nurse said. “Then we started obviously looking for him after he hit three or so there.”

A point not lost upon Green.

“It was kind of weird then trying to run plays for me, get the ball in my hands,” he said. “It’s kind of a first for me.

“But it was fun, the fans made it even better.”

Lowry’s three free throws with 33 seconds remaining in the second secured Toronto its 55-48 half-time advantage. Ibaka led the way for Toronto with 14 points, one more than C.J. Miles. Jackson Jr., had nine points for Memphis.

The Grizzlies did even the score 30-30 on Jevon Carter’s three-pointer but the Raptors surged back ahead 38-32, thanks to eight points from Miles (two three-pointers, field goal) at 6:28.

Miles’ three-point play late in the first capped a 9-0 run for Toronto, which ended the quarter ahead 23-19. Ibaka led the way with 10 points for the Raptors, who shot 10-of-22 from the field.

Omri Casspi’s field goal ended Toronto’s 9-0 run for Memphis, which shot 7-of-21 and began the game 0-for-6 form the field.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Danny Green leads Toronto past Memphis for ninth straight home victory

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