Robson Friend as courtside for another hugely successful night of NBA action at the O2 Arena.
Thursday night saw NBA action back at The O2 Arena for the sixth time since 2011, as the Toronto Raptors narrowly defeated the Orlando Magic 106-103 in overtime, in-front of a sell-out, impressed and exhilarated London crowd.
Though it was technically a Magic home game, it was the Raptors who ran out with the backing of the spectators, as the Canadian side snatched the win in a thriller through Kyle Lowry’s 24 points and Cory Joseph’s 19 points, stretching their win streak to four.
It was a team effort from the only side representing Canada in the NBA, as DeMar DeRozan added 13 points and 11 rebounds, with seven other Raptors reaching double figures, including Argentine Luis Scola and Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas.
The O2 Arena was in full voice and with Canadian flags scattered across every section, not to mention the several Lithuanian flags raised high above the court as their patriotic talisman Valanciunas ran the court, a proud moment for the fans able to see a fellow countrymen live in action.
Amazement
The Magic gave as good as they got; on several occasions Orlando tracked back from double digit scores to finally tie the game at 96-96 with 0.7 seconds left in the game through a Victor Oladipo three pointer, stretching the game to overtime to the amazement and delight of the crowd.
Oladipo led the Florida side with 27 points, with Frenchman Evan Fournier adding 21 points. However, it was not enough down the stretch as the Magic failed to score from mid-range various times in overtime, with power forward Jason Smith and center Nikola Vucevic’s shots rattling out of the rim.
Vucevic of Montenegro, another of Orlando’s international stars, added 17 points and 11 rebounds in a routine performance for him, but it was not enough for Orlando as Toronto prevailed with a game-winning free throws from Kyle Lowry in the last few seconds.
Following the Raptors victory The O2 Arena posted the following on Twitter:
It prompts an interesting thought process as to why not? It is evident the sport is popular with fans here across the pond and London is fortuitous enough to possess a now world renowned state-of-the-art building such as The O2 arena which is almost a perfect venue for a basketball match.
Electric
With the arena enriched with various different jerseys and flags on show, as fans chanted and bellowed at every bucket, it is hard to understand why the sport itself in England is so feebly backed in relation to our own teams. It is clear there is a genuine and very real fan base in the country so perhaps there is more to be done in the future.
Therefore, maybe one day it could be conceivable that a team such as the London Lions could potentially play at the O2 Arena to a sell-out, electric crowd.
Nonetheless, the NBA visits have often been a colossal success and the 2016 NBA Global Games London was no different. Aficionados of the American game will now be counting their days to the announcement of the next teams to arrive on British soil.