  | P. Siakam 30 MIN | 5-10 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 10 PTS | +6 +/- Very active, made a few shots, grabbed a few boards, nearly got knocked out by David West while frustrating him with his high level of activity, and made a thunderous dunk late in the third as part of an important Raptors run. Priceless education as a starter against the highest level of basketball in the world, which may pay massive dividends down the road. | |
  | D. Carroll 24 MIN | 3-7 FG | 2-5 3FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | -15 +/- Looked very sharp to start, hitting his first two triples and adding a couple quick-decision assists. Slowed down with the rest of the squad after the first quarter despite not playing the last two, missing his next three from beyond the arc. | |
  | J. Valanciunas 18 MIN | 6-6 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | -4 +/- Was very effective early on, and ended with 100% from the field. Casey left him on the bench in the fourth in favour of Patterson and Siakam. While I understand not wanting JV to match up with Green, David West played a chunk of the 4th, and Jonas should be able to handle him. | |
  | K. Lowry 38 MIN | 6-17 FG | 3-6 3FG | 9-12 FT | 5 REB | 5 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 24 PTS | -7 +/- Shot well from three, not so much from elsewhere. As part of the late 3rd quarter run, Lowry forced Green into a tough spin move miss, contested Durant well, and was everywhere on the floor, spearheading the defensive push. On the negative side, had two uncharacteristic cross-court passes that were picked off, leading to easy points at the other end. | |
 | D. DeRozan 38 MIN | 8-18 FG | 1-4 3FG | 17-17 FT | 6 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 5 TO | 34 PTS | +1 +/- Is DeMar shooting threes a thing now? That step-back in the first was just WOW. The guy does not stop, he simply keeps coming at the defense, and the referees have no choice but to call fouls with all the contact he creates. With that said, that attitude often leads to turnovers (had 5 tonight) and Golden State is one team that’ll make you pay for them in transition. Got some pretty loud MVP chants late in the third. | |
  | P. Patterson 25 MIN | 2-7 FG | 1-3 3FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | -8 +/- Very sad to see him like this. He’s forcing his shots up quicker at this point, really trying to get the one or two to go in and get him going, but it just isn’t happening. Give the man a weekend off to catch up on Netflix, anything to get him out of this funk. | |
  | T. Ross 22 MIN | 2-8 FG | 2-4 3FG | 5-5 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | -1 +/- Was very active defensively in stretches, and attempted his best T-Mac impression in the last few minutes of the game, albeit with the slight difference of missing the shots. The field goal line wasn’t pretty. | |
 | L. Nogueira 13 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +11 +/- +/- king of the Raptors, led the team yet again with +11, while not attempting a single shot. Had a really nice assist to Siakam for a big third quarter dunk. | |
 | C. Joseph 22 MIN | 4-7 FG | 0-2 3FG | 6-7 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 14 PTS | -6 +/- Rescued the Raptors’ offense on a number of occasions as he is oft to do, but hasn’t been able to assert himself as a game-changer off the bench so far this season. Helped steer a valiant late push that almost made the Warriors nervous, upping his score. | |
 | N. Powell 11 MIN | 1-2 FG | 1-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PTS | -7 +/- Didn’t get much run-time with the return of Carroll until the 4th quarter, at which point the Raptors already seemed out of it. I wonder if it’s a strategic play – to throw a different look at the opponent late in the game, it really worked against the Knicks among others. | |
 | Dwane Casey Tough to blame the coach for losing on a back-to-back against arguably the best team in the world, but a few choices stand out – keeping the Raptors small ball lineup on a little too long in the second quarter when they were getting slaughtered, and capping JV at 18 minutes on a pretty solid night for him. | |
Five Things We Saw
- The Raptors came out strong in both games against the NBA finalists the last 2 years, their demeanor showing complete confidence in their ability to win both games, schedule makers be damned. Then fatigue and the Warriors’ offensive talent came into play. Still, this confidence has been present all year and is so fun to watch
- Raptors tried their small-ball lineup with Carroll at the 4 in the latter part of the 2nd quarter, but Golden State showed how much better their version of small-ball is, taking the lead and extending it. Raps were up 47-44 when Carroll came in for Siakam with 6:55 left in the 2nd, and were outscored by 16 the rest of the quarter, 22-6.
- Toronto held the Warriors to only 2 points for a stretch of 4:07 in the third quarter, allowing them to come back with a 15-2 run. Then the reigning MVP showed up, and quieted the crowd somewhat going into the final frame.
- JaVale McGee must be a joy to play against. Truly the Shaqtin’ MVP, averaging one ‘really?!’ play per minute
- At the end of the day, the Raptors can claim a moral victory on this back-to-back, with some very questionable calls Tuesday night preventing them from splitting the two games. They played well in Cleveland, an arena they’ve been blown out at multiple times, and never gave up against the offensive juggernaut that is Golden State, mounting comebacks when they had no business trying to. Onto the next one.
