4 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors win over the Memphis Grizzlies

It was an extremely strange first half for the Toronto Raptors, who shot a solid 57.9 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc. Usually with numbers like that, you'd have a lead going into the half but instead they trailed 71-59.

They had nine first-half turnovers which led to 15 points the other way for the Grizzlies. They were playing Memphis' slow pace of basketball instead of running the floor the way they usually do and it showed on the scoreboard. The Grizzlies had 30 points in the paint and were out-hustling the Raptors on the glass with a 20-13 rebounding differential at the half.

Their 71 points at the half were the most Toronto has allowed all season, but it was something out of the ordinary for the Grizzlies. It was the second time this season they've posted 70-plus points at the half, which has only occurred twice for them in the past 10 years!

The second half was a completely different story - the Raptors began to come up with stops and outscored Memphis 63-43 in the final two quarters. In the fourth quarter alone, they held the Grizzlies to just 17 points to complete the comeback. Toronto shot 64.5 percent from the field and knocked down 10 of their 17 3-point attempts, good for 58.8 percent. They only turned the ball over six times and outrebounded Memphis 18-15, leading to the victory.

After allowing 30 points in the paint in the first half and playing victim to the Grizzlies' slow style of basketball, Raptors' head coach Nick Nurse decided to switch things up and play a 2-3 zone defence.

While the Grizzlies still shot 9-for-20 from the field (45.0 percent) and only turned the ball over three times in the quarter, the zone defence flipped their game on it's head. It put the Raptors in a better position to rebound and outlet immediately, running the floor for fast break points and attacking the rim to get to the free throw line. After only recording 10 fast break points the entire first half, the Raptors scored 11 in the third quarter alone.

In similar fashion as their fast break points, they only had 10 free throw attempts in the first half and got to the line 11 times in the third quarter. This coaching decision put Toronto in a position to pick up the pace, confuse the Grizzlies on the offensive end and essentially, change the momentum which won them the game.

We're constantly talking about Kawhi Leonard's playmaking ability and the open looks it gets the Raptors' offence because of the attention he draws from opposing defences. Well, tonight in the fourth quarter we saw exactly that.

With the game tied at 107 with five minutes remaining Kawhi got the Raptors three-straight open looks which decided the outcome of the game. First, it was this dish to Kyle Lowry:

KL ➡️ KL pic.twitter.com/L6DEaJ8Wj4

- Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 28, 2018

Look at how four of the five defenders on the floor collapse on him once he gets into the paint, leaving Lowry wide open in the corner. On the two possessions following that, he made similar drives that drew the attention of Grizzlies' defenders leaving a red-hot Fred VanVleet wide open to knock down two clutch threes.

When the defence got use to Leonard looking to distribute, he decided to put the game away himself with a dagger 3-pointer of his own:

KAWHI DAGGER pic.twitter.com/rFPJUn8LG5

- Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 28, 2018

He may not have been the Raptors' leading scorer or leading assist-getter tonight, but without the play of Kawhi late in the fourth quarter Toronto may not have pulled off this comeback victory.

Fred VanVleet struggled mightily to start the season, shooting just 36.1 percent from the field and 26.0 percent from long range through his first 12 games. When Kawhi Leonard was forced to sit on the second leg of a back-to-back against the Chicago Bulls, Nurse slid VanVleet into the starting lineup to try and kickstart his scoring ability.

VanVleet went off for 18 points against the Bulls and seems to have found his stroke again since then. Tonight, he shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, scoring 18 points off the bench playing a major role in their win. All three of his made 3-pointers were in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the game's final frame.

Since that Bulls game, he's shooting 58.7 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from three averaging 12.3 points through their last six games. The Raptors are a better team when they have VanVleet's spark off the bench and you could definitely say that he's out of whatever funk he was in to start the season, which is great news for Toronto.