Confidence is such a fragile thing, it's difficult to imagine how much one day can carry over to the next because a handful of made shots one night can turn into a handful of misses the next and suddenly good feeling turns bad.
But as the Raptors flew to Milwaukee last night to start a week that includes three games they could consider winnable even at the darkest of moments this season, they left brimming with confidence off what could be their best performance of the season. Whether a gutsy 108-102 victory over the Orlando Magic carries any weight against the Bucks, Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies is anyone's guess, but there's no doubt the Raptors feel better about themselves today than they have in weeks.
Beating the Magic with Jose Calderon and Jermaine O'Neal on the shelf with injuries is one thing; beating the 26-8 Magic by pulling out a game in the final three minutes is something entirely different. And entirely unexpected from a Raptors team known to blow leads rather than rally for wins.
"It's a sign of us maturing a little bit," coach Jay Triano said after rookie point guard Roko Ukic and veteran shooting guard Anthony Parker (a season-best 26 points on 13-of-16 shooting) provided the much-needed and somewhat surprising lift. "We knew it was going to go right down to the wire and it was going to be one of those games. Maybe it was a little bit of a confidence-builder for us.
"I just think the last two games at home (wins over Orlando and Houston) we have been playing with a lot of confidence and I think it all stems from the intensity with which we attempt to defend."
Despite being lit up for a career high-tying 39 points from Dwight Howard and giving up 15 three-pointers, the Raptors did get the defensive stands they needed in the dying minutes of a close game.
With the score tied 101-101 with three minutes to go, the Raptors didn't give up another basket, holding Orlando to one Howard free throw while forcing ugly misses by Rashard Lewis and J.J. Redick, a missed three-pointer by Hedo Turkoglu and two Magic turnovers.
"I think the team that won was the team that deserved to win," said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy. "I think they played better and harder."
The best Raptor play of the game came from the most unlikely of sources. Clinging to a one-point lead with less than 39 seconds to go, Ukic went left and easily past Magic point guard Jameer Nelson and hit a little floater in the lane over Howard.
"If I have one special shot, that's it, going left and try to throw this floater," said Ukic, who finished with 11 points and seven assists - five in the fourth quarter. "Since I've been here I've been trying to find the most effective way to finish. I had to completely change my finishes from the way I did in Europe because the first 10 games I got maybe 15 shots blocked. I just came up with this little floater; I try to work on it a lot and it just came."
While Ukic may have invented the shot that made his afternoon, Parker simply reinvented his. The veteran shooting guard, whose play has been spotty all year, hit 13-of-16 shots - all two-pointers and including four dunks.
Triano credited the play of Andrea Bargnani (18 points and good defence on Howard) with creating space for Parker.
"He (Parker) is not getting (shots and dunks) if Dwight is hanging around there, so we kind of used Andrea to pull the defence out at times," said Triano. "I think that just opened it up for (Parker)."
