The Raptors came in looking to win seven consecutive games for the first time since 2002. It looked good early for Toronto but after jumping out to a 10-0 start things just never quite fell back into rhythm.
Following a Dallas timeout at the 9:08 mark, the Mavs responded by ending the quarter on a 26-11 run of their own. The big story from the first quarter was that Kyle Lowry was sent to the bench with 2:56 seconds to go after picking up three early fouls, including two in a three second span. For the quarter Toronto committed seven fouls to Dallas’s three. Amir Johnson was excellent, finishing as the team’s leading scorer for the quarter with 7 points, despite missing a couple of easy shots at the rim.
The second quarter was basically a series of runs, which characterized the game at large. Dallas started by continuing to move the ball well and forcing Toronto to miss shots that they’d normally make. At one point Dallas was up 45-32 before Toronto, as they tend to do, fought back and evened the quarter out at 22 points apiece. Neither team shot the ball well in the quarter, as Dallas finished shooting 37.5 on 9-of-24 shooting and Toronto finished shooting 32%, making only 8-of-25 shots. Lou Williams led the team with seven points in the quarter and Amir Johnson continued to play well, pulling down four offensive rebounds.
The Raptors had to have felt good going into the half only down five. Not only were they down by 13 at one point, but also Demar and Jonas were held scoreless in the half. Although Dallas generally looked to be in control for much of the half, it was a pretty even matchup statistically. Neither team shot well from two point range or the free throw line but both teams saved themselves by shooting really well from beyond the arc. For the half, Dallas connected on 7-of-11 three-point attempts and Toronto responded by hitting 7-of-13 on their end.
Toronto again found themselves down big in the third before ending the period on an 8-0 run of their own. Jonas Valanciunas came out determined and finished with seven rebounds in the quarter. Of course the huge story from the third period was that the Raps lost Demar to a groin injury as he slipped awkwardly on a drive to the basket. Demar, who did not return from the injury, was out of sorts all game and finished with zero points on 8 attempts.
The fourth quarter was more of the same. Toronto was down 97-85 with 1:47 to play before, predictably again making a run of their own and pulling the game to within 2 points on a flurry of treys by Greivis Vasquez and Kyle Lowry. Lowry, who was not his usual kick ass self for most of the game, stepped up big in the fourth, scoring 13 of his team high 25.
Despite never quite getting over the hump the Raptors showed a lot of moxie in this game. There were several moments when they could have thrown in the towel and they instead kept on fighting. Dallas is a really good team and this was a solid litmus test for the Raptors. Even without playing especially well they managed to give themselves a chance to win down the stretch.
Random Thoughts:
- It’s so important to have Lou Williams off the bench, especially on nights like tonight when the starters were struggling to put the ball in the basket.
- Dallas is better defensively than advertised. While they lack a lot of great individual defenders, their team defense gave Toronto problems all night. Tyson Chandler’s length especially was a huge problem for the Raptors.
- You can’t lose the turnover battle against a team like Dallas. The Mavericks scored 22 points off 17 Toronto turnovers while Toronto only scored four points off of Dallas’s eight. The disparity was especially pronounced in the second half, where Toronto lost the turnover battle 10-2.
- Both teams showed why they’re so damn good in their own ways. Dallas’s wonderful ball movement and patience and Toronto’s tenacity and resilience were both on full display.
