Patrick Patterson left the Raptors’ game against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday due to flu-like symptoms and will not return.
Patterson played eight first-half minutes, missing a pair of threes, committing a turnover by travelling when attacking a closeout, and registered a steal. He was a minus-three but did a solid job making Dirk Nowitzki uncomfortable at the defensive end, something he admitted before the game would be a daunting endeavor.
While Patterson’s struggled this season – he’s averaging 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds while hitting 32.2 percent of his threes – he broke out in a major way Sunday, scoring a season-high 18 points and hitting four triples. Hopefully the illness doesn’t stunt any momentum he may have been building.
His absence made way for Anthony Bennett to get early third-quarter run. The Raptors are down to nine healthy bodies, and Bennett is currently drawing the unenviable task of helping check Nowitzki, who is heating up after a slow first half.
Bennett’s only played 48 minutes on the year, most of it in garbage time, and had played twice since Nov. 13. He was assigned to the D-League for a game on Sunday, where he turned in a mediocre performance but may have benefitted from getting actual in-game action. Delon Wright told Raptors Republic on Tuesday that his own assignment made him less nervous about potential NBA action, which he, too, is receiving against the Mavs.
