The Raptors clinch their first road win of the season with 119-93 win against Pelicans

A dominant road victory might be just what the Raptors needed

The Toronto Raptors completed the third leg of their four-game road trip against the New Orleans Pelicans, finally securing their first road win of the season. After dropping the first ten, Toronto came into this matchup hoping to capitalize on the Pelicans’ struggles this season.

Despite high expectations at the beginning of the year, the injury bug has hit New Orleans even worse than the Raptors. Missing 86 man games due to injury already, and missing 5 of their 6 role players, the Pelicans had a distinct disadvantage in this contest. CJ McCollum and Yves Missi contributed for New Orleans, generating most of the offence and finishing with 19-3-4 and 11-5 respectively.

The Raptors gave Ja’Kobe Walter the nod tonight, starting alongside Scottie, Jakob, Ochai, and RJ. The rookie showed out, finishing with 14-11-5 alongside Ochai who carried the offence with 24-6-2 on 90% shooting. RJ also had a great road game, with 22-8-11 and helping generate opportunities for everyone he shared the floor with.

In the first quarter, Ja’Kobe tried to make his presence known. He logged the first basket of the game: a corner 3-pointer. In the next possession, he closely face-guarded Murray who bricked a long range shot with Walter draped over him. Despite a bad pass that led to a turnover, he stayed in the play, deflected the ball back to himself and completed a highlight-reel behind-the-back pass to Agbaji for the layup.

Despite the entertainment of the first few moments of the game, and the excitement of finally watching Walter shine after returning from injury, the first quarter was true rebuilding basketball. They finished 4/17 from beyond the arc with most of the shots being left on the front of the rim, allowing New Orleans to shift to a zone defence for a time, conserving their energy as they dealt with their own struggles with shooting and passing throughout the first. By the end of the quarter, a 21-20 score favouring Toronto was a strong indicator that the teams needed some time to talk things over.

In the second, they both began to find rhythm. It felt like the lid was taken off the basket, as CJ McCollum started drilling shots for the Pelicans, giving them an advantage. Jamison Battle and Ochai Agbaji answered for the Raptors, making their own corner 3-pointers consecutively at times, allowing a 14-0 run that gave them back the lead. Ja’Kobe Walter continued to be a bright spot as well, with a circus shot that gave him an and-1 opportunity.

Toronto looked to capitalize on their opponents’ overly aggressive help defence and prioritized driving the ball and kicking it out to open shooters. The plan paid off, giving the Raps a 10 point advantage heading into the locker room. What was likely even more satisfying for them was the successful block of the Pelicans’ last attempt before heading off the court.

It didn’t take long in the second half for the Raptors to take control of the game. Strong offensive contributions from RJ helped lead Toronto to a healthy 20+ point lead around the halfway point of the third quarter. The Pelicans struggled to generate their offence and respond.

The lead continued to balloon, and the Raptors opted to get the bench in and let Shead, Walter, Fernando, Temple, and Mogbo run the clock out, up 119-93 as the buzzer sounded. This will for sure be a feel-good win for the team, breaking the losing streak on the road and getting great performances especially from rookies Battle and Walter.

Jamison Battle answered the call for a shooter early, with his first substitution coming early in the game in the first. He didn’t hesitate, having an almost perfect night scoring 24 points on 6 of 8 shooting from long range. He’s stepped up when his name was called, but this was by far his best game of the season and is giving Raps fans a bit of a window into what he can bring to the team, especially on a night where most of the team was struggling from distance.

Ja’Kobe was fun to watch as the Raptors next young prospect, especially as his rookie year has already been marred by injury and missed games. He stuffed the stat sheet, with a double double in his first NBA start.

Scottie didn’t hesitate tonight, jacking 12 threes in the game, but only made 2 of them. His shooting struggles continued from all over the floor, and at times in the first half, he tried to force isolation plays or tough passes that led to a turnover. It’s undoubtedly frustrating when his shot isn’t falling, but it will be important for him to continue to find his teammates and find ways to contribute to the offence. Despite forcing it early, his game adjusted in the second half, finishing with 17-13-7.

The Raptors will complete their road trip on Friday against the Miami Heat on Friday at 8pm ET on TSN.