Unfocused Raptors get torched 120-98 by the Suns

A perfectly good opportunity was blundered by the Toronto Raptors. The Raps lost a game on the road that they should have had against the Phoenix Suns by a score of 120-98.

The Suns entered the game riding a five-game losing streak, missing two of their bigger names in Grayson Allen and Dillon Brooks. Not only that, but the Suns were also coming into the game on the second night of a back-to-back after falling short to the Milwaukee Bucks. Everything pointed toward a Raptors advantage, but in typical Toronto fashion, the Raps failed to capitalize.

Instead, the Suns took control early and never looked back. Phoenix built a double-digit lead in the opening quarter and maintained that cushion for the rest of the night, exposing a flat and uninspired Raptors start.

In the first quarter, Toronto struggled immensely to bury a triple from beyond the arc. They shot just 11.1 percent and converted one of their nine attempts. After losing a two-possession game late in the fourth to the Denver Nuggets in their last game, you would expect Toronto to feed off that and use that as motivation to bounce back, but instead, they came out sluggish, allowing the Suns to get off to an early 8- 0 start.

The one bright spot offensively in the quarter was Scottie Barnes, who looked much more like his old, aggressive self. He tallied seven of his 17 points in the opening quarter, six coming from inside the paint; he even earned a trip to the foul line, where he split the pair. It was an encouraging sign amid his recent offensive struggles.

While Toronto struggled from deep early on, the Suns had no such issue. Phoenix scored 24 of their 32 points in the first half from downtown. Without their sharpshooter, Allen, in this game, Collin Gillespie caught fire from the opening tip, going 3-4 from three-point range. Devin Booker also gave Toronto’s defence all that they could handle, dropping eight of his 25 points early on to go along with a triple of his own.

While the Suns’ leading scorer was doing his thing, the Raptors’ leading scorer was not. After scoring 36 points in their last match-up against the Suns, Brandon Ingram came out cold. He went just 1-7 in the first half, being held to a measly 2 points. Ingram hands down finished the night with his worst performance as a Raptor. BI3 played 27 minutes, finishing with six points and five turnovers. That is unacceptable if the Raptors expect to win big games.

Another player who had an unacceptable performance in the first quarter was Jakob Poetl, who had zero shot attempts to go with zero rebounds in the first eight minutes of the game before finally taking a seat on the bench. This was just yet another sign of Toronto’s lack of early intensity

In the second, Toronto woke up a bit, showing more life, by going on a 12-0 run, their biggest of the game. RJ Barrett, after being held scoreless in the first, dropped six straight near the start of the second. He drained a triple from the left wing, followed by a dunk and a couple of free throws. Ja’Kobe Walter was also a bright spot for the Raps off the bench. He was also a big part of the run. Walter had 11 first-half points on 4-4 shooting.

Despite Toronto’s run, the Suns responded. They were able to hold onto the lead with stellar play from Ryan Dunn. The second-year player notched seven points of his 12 points, going 3-3. Dunn also earned himself a couple of highlight reel moments, first with a putback slam and then, less than a minute later, with a steal that left him alone for a fast-break dunk. He was a big part of why Phoenix was able to carry a 66-48 lead going into the third.

The second half led to more shooting disaster for the Raps. Just like the first quarter, the Raptors only drained one triple, going 1-8 from deep in the third. Jamal Shead continued to shoot poorly. Shead finished with just two points, going 1-6 from the field in this game. His frustration led to three early fouls, including a technical. Shead has not scored in double digits in a game since February 25th, back when the Raptors played the San Antonio Spurs.

With the Eastern Conference standings tightly contested, games like this carry significant weight. If the Raptors hope to stay competitive down the stretch, they must take care of business in matchups they are expected to win. Losses like this could prove costly when the playoff picture is finalized.

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