Terrence Ross’s hot hand helps lead Raptors past Wizards

TORONTO – There’s no denying that Terrence Ross will be one of the intriguing stories to follow around the Toronto Raptors this season.

Heading into the 2014-2015 campaign there was an overwhelming opinion that the development of Ross, along with centre Jonas Valanciunas, would be a key factor in determining whether the Raptors could take the next step as a franchise after a breakout year in 2014.

The 23-year-old small forward has proven he can be a dynamic scorer, but he’s struggled with consistency over his first two years in the NBA and he all but disappeared during the playoffs last spring.

Luckily for Raptors fans, Ross was on his game Friday and his three-point stroke – along with Kyle Lowry’s fourth triple-double as a Raptor – provided the necessary spark to help carry the team to a 103-84 win over the Washington Wizards, a night in which the Raptors donned their purple throwback jerseys and welcomed back alumni Antonio Davis and Alvin Williams as a part of the franchise’s 20th anniversary celebration.

“I got to the gym last night and just kept getting shots up to try and get my shot back,” Ross, who also expressed his love of the throwback jerseys, said after the win. “I guess things just went my way.”

The third-year starter scored 18 points on 7-of-15 from the field including four three pointers, all of which came in the first half and helped kick start Toronto’s offence. And it wasn’t only on the offensive side of the ball that Ross contributed. He pitched in with five rebounds and limited Paul Pierce to just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.

“He was very explosive,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said of Ross’s performance. “He got everything started offensively. He shot the ball with tremendous confidence over a Hall of Famer in Paul Pierce and that really got him going … It was a great start for him, great confidence builder for him.”

In a way, the win was likely a confidence boost for the team as well. While the Raptors are now 5-1 and off to the best start in franchise history, Friday was the first time they were able to hold their opponents in check early on. In their first five games of the season the Raptors allowed opponents to shoot a combined 60.8 per cent from the field in the first quarter alone while the Wizards only managed to shoot 30.8 per cent in the opening frame and 36.1 per cent through four quarters.

Casey feels his team’s defensive performance Friday is a sign things are heading in the right direction.

“Over the long run [our guys] understand that they can’t start games the way they’ve been starting them,” Casey said. “The defence we had tonight was a lot like us last year, and that is where we have to perform.”