Quick Reaction: Raptors 112, Suns 105

OG hit his biggest shot, the left corner three after going scoreless in the second half. He hit key shots in pivotal moments, and scored both inside and out. Late in the second quarter, he took wide strides inside the lane, hit the shot, and drew contact. Defensively, he had some great shot contests on KD.

Siakam was aggressive since the start. He had a furious first quarter start, and led the team in scoring at halftime with 14 points. In the first half, he didn’t care who was on him, and went right at them. He took the ball into Josh Okogie, had a floater with no foul call but played right through it, and had his signature spin + fadeaway jumper over KD at the end of Q2. In the second half, he scored the bucket to tie the game after Phoenix had gone on a 12-2 run. Only knock on Siakam is the turnover he had in the first half, where he coughed up the ball on a 2-on-1 fast break.

Poeltl embodies stability. He went nearly perfect from the field. He continues to play a great PnR game with Schroder, and showed a solid defensive effort tonight. Specifically, he had a spirited defensive play that allowed Schroder to get on the run and find Siakam for an easy bucket in fast break. At the end of Q4, Poeltl switched onto KD, and forced him to miss a mid-range.

Scottie Himothy Barnes. He had a quiet first half, but showed Point God vision in the second quarter – he fed OG with a precise bounce pass in transition. When that didn’t work, he found Poeltl down low for a bucket plus foul. He also blocked Netu’s dunk attempt. Scottie made his presence known in the third with a bucket in the paint over Nurkic. Defensively, he had at least two helpside blocks – one on Watanabe and the other on Gordon. When it mattered most, Barnes attacked in the fourth using an Achiuwa screen and drew the and-1, had a good up-and-under in the paint, and simply willed himself into the paint in a Siakam-esque way.

Hooping must great fun with Schroder. He had nine assists at halftime. He had PnRs with Achiuwa and Poeltl in the first half. In transition, he fed Siakam, right after a steal, which converted into three points. Schroder had a paint touch and a beautiful kickout to OG on the left wing for a triple.

GTJ was solid tonight. He was the first one off the bench, replacing Scottie. He made two triples in the first half – one off a Pascal kickout and another to give the Raps a 12-point lead. GTJ had eight points at half time and five in the second half. Hit an important triple to put Raps up 77-74 end of Q3.

Despite his glaring inconsistencies, he was great today. Had a great PnR play with Schroder in the first half. When he missed shots, he muscled his way inside for buckets. He showed his extended range today too. Only Raptor with a double-double.

Didn’t do much today. Missed all open threes.

Was a non-factor in the minutes he played.

Was a brief flash in the pan.

Darko used his timeouts well today, and ensured his team maintained the lead for most of the game, however small it may have been. He called timeouts when needed — after Gordon hit the wide open left wing three. And he called another after KD’s one-dribble pull-up three helped the Suns inch within six points midway through the fourth.