Break up the streaking Toronto Raptors!
For the first time since its inception two seasons ago, the Toronto Raptors have qualified for the knockout stage of the NBA Cup. The Raptors routed the visiting
Washington Wizards, 140-100, in the third game of the round robin stage. Combined with Indiana’s loss to Cleveland, the Raptors clinched first place in Group A of the NBA Cup with one round robin game to spare. Once again, Toronto, who have now won 10 of its last 11 games and currently sit in 2nd place in the East, got contributions up and down the roster. Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett each(!) had 24 points and 8 rebounds. Scottie Barnes poured in 23 points on an uber-efficient 10-for-15 shooting, in addition to getting 3 steals. Sandro Mamukelashvili led all reserves — and repeatedly delighted the Scotiabank Arena crowd — with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Immanuel Quickley continued his hot shooting of late with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting to go along with 7 assists. The starters, including Jakob Poeltl, and Mamu combined to shoot 59% from the field.
CJ McCollum led the Wizards with 20 points. The rest of Washington’s starters combined to also score 20 points, in case you’re wondering about the state of Wizards basketball.
Raptors started the game scoring 11 of the first 13 points with relatively little resistance from the NBA’s 29th-ranked defense. Washington’s 28th-ranked offense also proved its ranking, missing 6 of its first 7 shots, before Brian Keefe called the first timeout and his team down 11-2.
Recurring themes from Toronto’s current hot streak — winners of 9 of the last 10 games — were imprinted throughout the first quarter. The team generated 5 turnovers. Brandon Ingram’s had an emphatic block on a Cam Whitmore drive and stole the ball from Kyshawn George like it owed him lunch money.
Mamukelashvili reached his quota of exciting the Scotiabank Arena fans with a steal and breakaway layup in the dying seconds of the quarter. Toronto ended the first quarter with a 31-20 lead.
In the second quarter, the Wizards took better care of the ball. Unfortunately for Washington, that didn’t solve its issue with scoring as they missed 9 of its first 12 field goal attempts in the quarter. The Wizards entered the game with a 1-13 record and the offense on display tonight validated the poor record. Offensive possessions had very little ball movement, players staying in one spot, and no penchant to crash the boards. Outside of CJ McCollum, who pitched in with a modest eight points in the first half, the other four Wizards starters combined to shoot 2-for-16(!).
Yet, the Wizards outscored the Raptors 27-26 in the second quarter. Rookie, Tre Johnson, led the way for Washington with 9 points, as he hit all 3 of his three-point attempts. Ingram and Mamukelashvili didn’t help the cause as they shot a combined 2-for-11 in the quarter. Washington’s bench outscored Toronto’s 29-15. Still, the Raptors entered halftime with a 57-47 lead and a victory well within its sights.
Washington was playing without its leading scorer and rebounder, Alex Sarr, who missed his second consecutive game with toe injury. Toronto was without Collin Murray-Boyles for a second consecutive game as well, as he deals with an MCL strain in his right knee.
With “only” a 10-point advantage against a largely inferior foe, the Raptors came out of halftime with some extra juice. Scottie Barnes posted up and scored a couple of times. Ingram had extra bounce in his step as he slithered his way to smooth mid-range buckets. Quickley had a steal and assisted RJ Barrett on a breakaway layup on Washington’s opening possession. By the time Barnes drained his second triple of the quarter, and his 10th points of the quarter, Toronto’s lead grew to 81-64.
The Raptors kept pouring it on the third quarter. Barnes finished the quarter shooting 6-for-7 and scoring 14 points to go along with two steals. Barrett added 10 points in the frame. Toronto forced 7 more turnovers as they punished the Wizards in all facets, outscoring Washington by 18 points in the quarter. The 48 points Toronto scored in the frame was a franchise record. The Raptors entered the fourth quarter with a 105-77 lead.
The Raptors received a scare in the fourth quarter when Ingram rolled his ankle on a jump shot. Bub Carrington, who was defending Ingram’s mid-range jumper, did not give Ingram enough space to land, resulting in Brandon rolling his right ankle when he landed. Ingram was visibly upset as he slapped right foot repeatedly on the ground until he was lifted up. Carrington was charged with a flagrant foul. Ingram was able to take the flagrant free throw before exiting the game…….on his own, without assistance and without limping. Phew!
Ironically, the NBA Cup’s format may have indirectly played a role in Ingram’s incident. With the Raptors already up by 28 points and only 7 minutes remaining, Darko would likely have pulled out his starters but, with point differential a factor in determining seedings, Toronto still had four of its starters in the game.
Toronto entered the game as 14.5 point favourites. In its 31 seasons, the Raptors were a perfect 15-0 when favoured by that much. The 16th win was definitely sweet as Toronto prepares for its first trip to the NBA Cup playoffs.
The Raptors will look to keep the good times rolling when the Brooklyn Nets roll into town on Sunday. After a back-to-back with the Cleveland Cavaliers (and a chance to sweep the season series!), the Raptors play its final round robin game of the NBA Cup when the Pacers visit Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
