Toronto Raptors hold onto road win against Atlanta Hawks
Despite a comeback attempt, the Toronto Raptors would hold on to take down the Atlanta Hawks 122-119 at State Farm Arena Thursday night.
The road win marked just the second of the season for Toronto, improving to 2-19 on the road this season, snapping a nine-game road losing streak. It also marked the fourth win in the last five for the Raptors, their best stretch of the season. The team improved to 12-32, remaining 14th in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors came firing out of the gate, taking a 35-25 lead after the first quarter. Toronto looked sharp, holding a double-digit lead for most of the first half as they continued to play their best ball of the season. The Hawks had a chance to tie with 2.7 seconds left, but good defence by the Raptors — which has been hard to come by this season — forced a 3-pointer by Onekya Okongwu at the buzzer that was an airball.
The loss marked the third straight for the Atlanta Hawks, who fell to 22-22 and seventh in the Eastern Conference. To add insult to injury, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson injured his left shoulder in the second quarter. He left the court immediately and did not return to the game. He had been battling right shoulder inflammation before the contest.
The injury bug would also hit Toronto — as it has all season with Immanuel Quickley and Ochai Agbaji out — with Kelly Olynyk exiting the contest following his team-high +39 plus-minus performance in Toronto’s 109-93 win against the Orlando Magic Tuesday evening.
The key to the win was none other than the face of the franchise, Scottie Barnes. The 23-year-old finished with 25 points, six rebounds, three assists, and one steal. The former all-star was also efficient, going 8-for-17 from the field and 1-for-2 from deep. He also hit a clutch mid-range basket with 55 seconds remaining, virtually securing the win for Toronto.
The Raptors also had some help off the bench, with Bruce Brown Jr. and Montreal, Quebec-raised Chris Boucher doing their thing once again. Brown finished with an efficient 18 points (8-for-12 from the field), five rebounds, four assists, and one steal. The 28-year-old veteran hit a clutch three-pointer from the corner in the fourth quarter, while providing some stellar defence.
Boucher contributed 17 points, two rebounds, and one steal, continuing his strong run of play. The recently turned 32-year-old has been on a tear lately, stacking good performance on top of good performance.
Starters Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett, and Jakob Poeltl also put in double-digit point days.
Dick finished with 15 points, including 11 in the first quarter helping Toronto get out to that early lead. The second-year sharpshooter also tacked on three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Barrett would also finish with 15 points, adding on six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. The Mississauga, Ontario native logged the second most minutes on the team with 36 and went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Poelt was quiet but effective, stuffing the stat sheet with 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks. He was matched up with Atlanta centre Onyeka Okongwu, who finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds after recently being inserted into the starting lineup.
Bogdan Bogdanovic shook off a recent shooting slump to score 23 points, finishing with a team-high +6. The 32-year-old hit three of his five 3-pointers for the Hawks, adding three rebounds and a block.
Dyson Daniels was also a key contributor for Atlanta, putting up 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The Raptors and Hawks will do it all again on Saturday at, the same time and same place.
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