 | Toronto | 112 | Final Box Score | 117 | Golden State |  |
 A | P. Siakam21 MIN, 20 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 9-12 FG, 2-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -3 +/- Pascal in the first quarter looked very much the part of a young player playing against the best team in the league, but he got some easy baskets off dump-off passes while the Warriors were ignoring him and really got into the groove of things, then came through with a huge third quarter to help pull the Raptors back into the game when it looked like it might get away from them. | |
 C | N. Powell16 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 3 +/- Norman Powell had a very forgettable night, with his first half mostly marked by foul trouble and he wasn’t really able to have an impact after that. | |
 C | S. Ibaka28 MIN, 15 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 5-12 FG, 1-6 3FG, 4-4 FT, 4 BLK, 2 TO, -6 +/- There are two sides to Serge’s game. On one hand, he was rolling on offense early when just about no one else was, and that was big for the team. On the other hand, he struggled mightily in controlling the boards in the first half, and wasn’t impressive defensively at all. Also was a bit of a black hole on offense for stretches, forcing his own shot rather than looking to pass out. Four rebounds is just not enough from him, he needs to be a presence on the boards. | |
 C | K. Lowry38 MIN, 14 PTS, 3 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL, 5-17 FG, 1-7 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -5 +/- Lowry’s first half was nothing short of frustrating. Didn’t look like he wanted to shoot, and didn’t look great when he did. Wasn’t on his defensive game. Really just wasn’t there. But he came through with some big plays in the fourth and almost looked like himself, as well as providing nine assists. Then in the closing minutes Kyle and DeMar reverted to isolation which completely clogged the offense. | |
 B+ | D. DeRozan38 MIN, 24 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST, 6 STL, 9-18 FG, 0-0 3FG, 6-7 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -8 +/- This was almost an A+, until those last few minutes. Was really close to a great game from DeMar. He was engaged defensively, coming up with 6 steals and working hard, and he didn’t force his offense against tougher defenders, but found his spots when he wasn’t guarded by those guys. But in those closing minutes he reverted to form, which lowers his grade. Needed to find a way to get better shots, either for himself or someone else, in the crunch. | |
 B | D. Wright29 MIN, 7 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 0-4 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -6 +/- Delon struggled guarding Steph Curry in the second half, and didn’t have his own shot working, which is the only thing keeping this from being a higher grade. He was one of the few players aside from Jakob Poeltl rebounding well, and he ran the second unit extremely well against a tough opponent. | |
 A+ | J. Poeltl27 MIN, 12 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 6-10 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -2 +/- What a game from Jak. Dominated the offensive boards, saving possessions all night long for the Raptors, and created huge mismatch problems for the defending champions. Stuffed Kevin Durant at the rim, played great transition defense, and just generally was always in the right place at the right time. For long stretches of the game, he was the best player on the floor. | |
 C | C. Miles19 MIN, 10 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 3-9 FG, 2-8 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/- This was a rough night for CJ. Despite a great second quarter stretch for the bench unit that included some fantastic plays for him, they really could’ve used him hitting a couple more outside shots when no one else was. | |
 A+ | O. Anunoby18 MIN, 8 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 8 +/- If Jakob Poeltl’s game didn’t happen, OG might’ve had a case for the best Raptors player tonight. He looked lost early in the game, but really found his stride in the second half when he made several massive plays for the team. He is such an impressive rookie. | |
 D | F. VanVleet6 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- Fred looked outmatched in the minutes he did play, and lost his role with the bench late because of it. | |
 B | Dwane Casey Tough game for Casey. On one hand, the culture change looked real, and he trusted the bench unit, and they delivered. Also managed to get his team to control the boards against a tough opponent, and the 30 assists is great to see. On the other hand, didn’t find a way to score late and let the offense in the fourth quarter devolve into isolation once again. What’s the value of a culture change if it isn’t changed when the going gets tough? | |
Things We Saw
- Raptors shot more threes than the Warriors tonight, and given the personnel on the two teams, that’s probably not good for the visiting team. 19 above the break threes in the first half is too many for this roster, and shooting 23.5% from behind the arc would’ve been a much, much bigger problem if not for Poeltl’s 11 offensive rebounds saving a good few of those possessions.
- The kids showed up, against the defending champions, and showed that they are good. The youth on this team is really talented, and they’ve proven that they can be trusted to deliver.
- The Raptors gave up 5 first quarter offensive rebounds, and it looked like it might be a repeat of the game against the Spurs, but then they limited the Warriors to just one offensive board the rest of the night, which seems good, except…
- …Defense. Allowing the Warriors to shoot 55.8% from the field and 46.2% from behind the arc is going to make any game tough to win, and it’s a credit to the Raptors that they kept it close given this, but they have to be better at that end of the floor.
