The AltRaps Blog

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/NBA/article/280958But if the likes of Carlos Delfino and Jason Kapono continue to play as they did last night, it’ll lessen the urgency with which the Raptors need their injured players to return.

Delfino scored all 14 of his points in the decisive second quarter – when Toronto out-scored Memphis 30-10 and took control of the game. Kapono also had 14 points and the two combined for 11 rebounds.

“He hit some shots, his defence was good, we needed him,” Mitchell said of Delfino. “We needed everybody who played. … That was a good win for us with people going down.”

It was a good win primarily because of the way the Raptors defended. Holding Mike Miller to just four points, Rudy Gay to eight and the Grizzlies to a miserable 39 per cent shooting night from the floor, it was as thorough a defensive game as Toronto’s played at home this season.

“We played well on defence, except for the first quarter,” said Mitchell.

“Everyone did a good job.”