Valanciunas, DeRozan help Raptors fend off late Phoenix Suns rally: By the Numbers

The Phoenix Suns made a valiant comeback effort in the fourth quarter Friday at the Air Canada Centre, but the Toronto Raptors weren’t going to let one slip away at home.

Toronto came into the game 11-2, including 9-1 at home, and Dwane Casey’s group showed why it’s off to the best start in the Eastern Conference.

The Suns could not handle the size of Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas, who rattled off a new career high. Guards DeMar DeRozan and Louis Williams also came up big for the Raptors, who held off Phoenix by a 104-100 final score.

Toronto snapped Phoenix’s four-game winning streak, dropping the visitors to 9-6. The Suns escaped their road trip 4-2 and will head home to face Denver on Wednesday.

Here’s a look at Monday’s game, by the numbers:

5

Suns forward Markieff Morris finished with 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting in 37 minutes. It was the fifth game in a row that he has shot 50 percent or better from the field. The fourth-year forward is hitting 51.1 percent of his shots so far this season. He also grabbed eight boards Monday, which is the most he’s pulled down in the last 11 games.

6

Suns guard Goran Dragic had a quiet night with six points, tying his season low. He has only failed to score in double-figures twice this season, and Phoenix has lost both of those games. The 28-year-old Slovenian only played 21 minutes Monday, missing six of his nine attempts from the field.

9

If the season ended Monday, the Suns would be the ninth seed in the Western Conference and out of the playoffs. If they would have won in Toronto, they’d be sitting at the sixth seed right now.

25

Eric Bledsoe was huge for the Suns in the fourth quarter, and he finished with a season-high 25 points. The fifth-year guard stuffed the stat sheet with seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals. He also tied his season high with three three-point makes (in six attempts).

27

Valanciunas shot a sizzling 10-for-11 from the field en route to 27 points, which beat out his previous career high by one. The third-year Raptors big man also blocked one shot and pulled down 11 rebounds, including four on the offensive end.

29

The super bench combo of Isaiah Thomas and Gerald Green combined for 29 points in the loss. Together, they hit six out of 11 three-pointers.

34-23

The Suns went into the fourth quarter down 15, but they gave themselves a chance by outscoring the home team 34-23 in the final period.

52-36

Mostly thanks to Valanciunas, the Raptors dominated in points in the paint 52-36. Suns center Miles Plumlee got into early foul trouble and only played five minutes all night. Backup center Alex Len got 20 minutes of action, and although he pulled down seven boards, he was ineffective on the offensive end, finishing with two points on 1-of-4 shooting.