TORONTO, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) — The Toronto Raptors defeated the Dallas Mavericks 95-74 in NBA action on Friday night, which snapped the Raptors’ six-game losing streak and also marked their first victory in the month of December. The 21 point-victory was also the team’s largest margin of victory of the season. Their previous margin was 19, in a 105-86 victory over the Timberwolves on November 4 at home.
Raptors head coach, Dwane Casey was impressed with the defensive effort in the victory.
“Our guys did a good job (playing defence) collectively. The last couple of days, we’ve been getting back to basics…it has to be about defence. Offence will take care of itself,” said Casey during the post-game press conference.
The offence Casey referred to came from the bench, as they outscored the Mavericks bench 53-27. Forward Linas Kleiza led this group with a game-high 20 points.
“Linas had one of his nights; he has one in every blue moon. He had one tonight,” said Casey.
Kleiza shares the defence first philosophy of Casey and believes in as a unit.
“We played as a team, trusted each other, and played great defence,” said Kleiza. “Everybody (has) got to step up. We’re tired of losing. It’s time for everybody to step up, enjoy the game and play as a team.”
Next up for the Raptors are the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Casey’s defence will face a tough test, as the Rockets rank third in the league in scoring with 104.2 points per game.
“We got to be ready for their high-powered offence. They will spread the floor with three-point shooters and have Asik rolling down the floor; they’re going to be handful,” said Casey. “Check with me Sunday after the game and I’ll let you know (how we do).”
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