Shorthanded Raptors lose to NBA’s best Oklahoma City Thunder
After an extremely busy trade deadline, the revamped Toronto Raptors were in Oklahoma City trying to slay the dragon in the Paycom Center. They did not. They lost the game shorthanded, missing RJ Barrett (concussion protocol), Jakob Poeltl (hip pointer), and newly acquired star Brandon Ingram (ankle sprain).
The team’s starting lineup was Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agabji, Scottie Barnes and rookie Jonathan Mogbo. There were some highs, including Quickley’s very first bucket coming off of some off-ball scampering and a 3-point bomb. But mostly, the team saw the Thunder slowly but surely pull away.
Canadian superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had some trouble against the Raps, putting up 25 points, four rebounds, six assists while shooting 12 shots and hitting just five. Nonetheless, he did what he does best which is lead the league in free throw attempts with 14 last night. No Raptor could stick with him in switches. And, oh yeah, he hit all 14. This was accompanied by first time All-Star Jalen Williams’ 27-point performance. The Thunder had their big three back in action as Chet Holmgren returned after missing 39 games due to a fractured hip. In his 22 minutes, he was quiet offensively but was active on defence getting a couple of steals and four blocks. One of them was a stuff on a Barnes dunk attempt. The other main scorers came from the Thunder were Aaron Wiggins (18), Isaiah Joe (16) and Alex Caruso (12). Caruso and Joe were the only OKC members to have success from beyond the arc shooting 50 percent or higher. The team shot a total of 51.2 percent from the field. This is their fourth straight win and would give them the NBA’s best record at 41-9.
The Raptors struggled inside the arc, shooting 20/50, but what kept it close for most of the game was their 3-point shooting (46 percent). They were manipulated into fouls as early as the first quarter. The team ended with 24 versus OKC’s 14. The Thunder’s shots weren’t falling from beyond the arc (9/31), so they stuck to mid-ranges and dominated with 60 paint points. Scottie led the way with a team-high 21 but shot just 40 percent overall. He was feeling it from the three, hitting 4/6, along with a defensive showcase of three steals and four blocks. Dick also came correct with an efficient 17 points and seven rebounds. Chris Boucher and Jamison Battle fired off the bench from three combining for six. Quickley had a game-high 10 assists and was followed up by teammate Jamal Shead who dished six dimes.
The first quarter opened up with a shaky start from the Thunder but as the team got settled, they ended it with a 35-25 lead and shot 13/18 from the field. The start of the second quarter began with a Caruso alley-oop but they got stumped for three and a half minutes afterwards. It stayed around the 10-point range for the rest of the quarter and OKC took the lead 55-44 going into halftime.
Start of the third quarter the game was going back and forth but the Thunder almost took a commanding lead if it wasn’t for the Raptors’ knockdown ability from three. SGA and Williams exposed the younger, less experienced bigs. Jonathan Mogbo and Orlando Robinson bit on pumps and got whistles giving that OKC duo a few trips to the charity stripe. It was the final seconds of the quarter when veteran Chris Boucher knocked down a corner three giving some life and momentum to the squad going into the fourth.
The last quarter opened up with some tempo control from OKC forcing Toronto to play under pressure offensively. They couldn’t adjust and had their rhythm thrown off which allowed the Thunder to slowly extend the lead until it was time to wave the white flag.
The Raptors look to have a healthier lineup as they try to prevent their fourth straight loss on Sunday against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.
The post Shorthanded Raptors lose to NBA’s best Oklahoma City Thunder first appeared on Raptors Republic.