Tumultuous Toronto Raptors season comes to an end in loss to San Antonio
Believe it or not, the Toronto Raptors season has come to an end, and it was on a losing note, falling to the San Antonio Spurs 125-118.
Game 82 started how most ‘useless’ game 82’s start, sloppy. With both teams locked into the seventh and eighth-best odds respectively, you could tell there wasn’t a high level of intensity overall. Someone who individually came to play was Jamison Battle, who was on fire from beyond the arc in the first quarter. After Ochai Agbaji went 5-for-5 from deep in the first frame in Friday’s 124-102 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the undrafted rookie went an insane 6-for-7 for 18 points, matching a career-high in threes made in a game. Those six long bombs would get Battle up to 104 on the season, the second most by a Raptors rookie ever (Damon Stoudamire – 133) and the fourth-most by an undrafted rookie in NBA history. The 23-year-old would be the biggest reason why the Raptors would get out to a 37-32 lead after one.
It wouldn’t be all sunshine and rainbows in the first, however, as Garrett Temple would exit the contest with a left knee sprain after Spurs guard Stephon Castle fell into his leg. The 38-year-old recently expressed coming back for another season, but he wouldn’t return to the game, leaving Toronto with seven available players the rest of the way.
The second quarter would fly by, but it would be all Raptors. Toronto outscored San Antonio 37-22 in the frame, ended on an 11-4 run, and would hold a 74-54 lead at the break. It was thanks to three players in particular, Agbaji, Scottie Barnes, and AJ Lawson. The 24-year-old Agbaji was effective in the first half of the quarter, putting up seven points in the first six minutes. Then it would be Lawson, putting up a quick four points once checking in midway through, but then it would be all Barnes to close it out. The former all-star would put up a 17-point quarter, putting up 11 of those points in the final two minutes. The 23-year-old was hitting threes, finishing strong at the basket, and he was even hitting step-backs to give his team the 20-point lead at halftime.
The third quarter would start with a bang, with Jonathan Mogbo throwing down a big-time slam. It’s been his passing lately however that’s been popping, as he became the third non-guard rookie to post four straight games of seven or more assists in the last 40 years. The Raptors would hold a double-digit lead until just over halfway through the frame, when a 9-0 run by the Spurs would cut the lead to just eight, 84-76. San Antonio would finish the quarter just as strong as they started it, going on a 26-11 run to end the frame, outscoring Toronto 39-21 in the quarter to only trail by two heading into the fourth, 95-93.
The intensity was picked up in the third, but it really came out in the fourth. Everyone was playing there you know what’s off in this one, which was fun to see. Some more history was also made, with the Raptors setting a franchise record for total assists in a season (2,337), the second straight year the team has done that. For San Antonio, Chris Paul became the oldest player to play in every game of a season since John Stockton and Michael Jordan did it in 2002-2003, per Keerthika Uthayakumar. Paul is the only player to play in every game in year 20 or later ever, while the Spurs have three players in the group of 11 to play in all 82 games (Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie).
The rest of the quarter would be back-and-forth, with the Spurs getting out to a five-point lead before Toronto would make it a one-possession game with three minutes to go. Ultimately, it would be Castle, Paul, and others closing it out for the Spurs, wining game 82.
Notable season-long numbers:
39 different starting lineups, franchise record.
Second in NBA in minutes and points by rookies.
Second most points combined in the NBA of players under 24.
Nine games, 140 mins total with Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and Jakob Poeltl.
22-21 record since Jan.13 (second in NBA in defensive rating).
To end the season, I want to say thank you to Raptors Republic for having me on for year number two, and a thank you to everyone who has read and supported the publication and myself throughout this less-than-ideal season. It truly is one of the best places for Raptors coverage and we aren’t done just yet. Keep checking in throughout the summer for player reviews, draft content, and much much more.
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