Raptors edge Lakers

It's been a while since my last blog post. Why? Because the Raptors have been extremely streaky, and have been hovering over that .500 mark for the last few weeks--one win, won loss, two wins, one loss, etc. With the way things have been going, and with my crazy schedule, it's hard to keep the blogging a constant.

But I felt very inclined to do a write-up following last night's win. Last night's win wasn't just any ordinary win--it was a win against the Los Angeles freakin' Lakers. That's right. The 33-10 (now 11) Lakers. The team that has Kobe Bryant, who dropped 81 points on us roughly 4 years ago. You know...the Lakers.

I'll admit it--going into last night's game, I thought the Raptors would get completely blown out. In fact, I tweeted "hope for the best, but expect the worst". I honestly thought the game would be out of reach within the first 24 minutes. But as the game progressed, there was no blowout. In fact, it was a close game the entire 48 minutes. To start out the 2nd half, the Lakers went on a quick 7-0 run and saw their halftime lead of 2 increase to 9. Sure enough, I thought the Lakers would be clear sailing from there, and gradually increase their lead. But sure enough, the Raptors battled back.

Although the Lakers held a small lead, both teams kept exchanging baskets. It wasn't until a the 7:33 mark in the 4th quarter when the Raptors took the lead.

You know the rest--Turkoglu got fouled with 1.2 seconds left, made both free throws to go up by 1, then Kobe misses the game winner. Raptors win. Unbelievable. Un-freakin-believable.

Chris Bosh had just another day at the office--18 points, 13 rebounds. But it was the role players who were the most impressive--Jarrett Jack had 18 points, and Andrea Bargnani dropped 22, hitting some BIG shots down the stretch.

But in my opinion, the player of the game goes to Marco Belinelli. In 23 minutes, Belinelli had 15 points and shot 3 of 3 from downtown. Did I mention how important a bench is? Thanks Colangelo.

A crowd of 20,111 was at the ACC last night, in what was a playoff atmosphere type game. God, I wish I was there.

If this doesn't give the Raptors confidence, I don't know what will. The Lakers are the defending champs and have the best record in the NBA. The Raptors are now 23-22, and are about to hit the easiest part of their schedule. This is a perfect time for the Raptors to do some damage in the East

Before yesterday's game, Chris Bosh said "I haven't been this encouraged in a while". I can only imagine how he feels now.