Raptors 107, Thunder 124 | Box Score | Quick Reaction | Reaction Podcast
Things weren’t going to go swimmingly forever. At some point, the Toronto Raptors were bound to run into some trouble again, and their seemingly annual post-holiday malaise resurfaced in full effect in a two-game road-trip coming out of Christmas. A lethargic defensive outing and another sub-par night for the team’s stars gave the Oklahoma City Thunder far too much control on their own court, and the surging Western Conference pseudo-power cruised through the second half en route to a 124-107 victory. There were troubling signs within, and how they respond in coming games will determine just how concerning they are, in isolation or as familiar patterns.
The Raptors came out looking like a team on the second night of a back-to-back, struggling to run their sets with purpose early on and giving the Thunder a lot of what they like to feast on at the other end. The opening three minutes were basically an exercise in every Thunder player but Andre Roberson getting their spots in, with Russell Westbrook starting things off, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George hitting feathery jumpers, and Steven Adams grabbing a tough offensive rebound. Dwane Casey opted for a very quick timeout in a 10-2 hole, and it helped for all of a possession – a Jonas Valanciunas post bucket – before back-to-back turnovers let Westbrook get out in transition, scoring once and hitting Anthony with a lob on the other.
Those shots to the chops woke the visitors up, and Kyle Lowry got them going with a three, a steal that produced a Serge Ibaka three on its heels, and an alley-oop to DeRozan on their pet semi-transition play. The Raptors followed up shortly after by running that same pet play into a post-up for DeRozan against Roberson, and he was able to draw the defensive specialist’s second foul to send him to the bench. Casey went to his bench early, too, given the potential fatigue, which meant a possession with Fred VanVleet guarding Westbrook, a steady diet of looks for C.J. Miles, and some excellent Pascal Siakam minutes. DeRozan also got the chance to take it at old friend Patrick Patterson, a successful attack that was part of a 15-0 closing run to take a lead by the end of the quarter.
OKC continues to get killed when George is on the floor without Westbrook, Anthony or Adams. Outscored 23-7 in 5:29 w/ PG only in the 1st half tonight.
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) December 28, 2017
Miles stayed hot to start the second, nailing his third three early to send Billy Donovan to a very quick timeout, suddenly down seven. The bench kept rolling, with Jakob Poeltl defending a Paul George switch well and Delon Wright drawing an and-one with a Euro-step to extend the run to 23-2. Basically, just like the Thunder starters had done earlier, the Raptors bench each got a chance to show what they do well individually.
https://twitter.com/Raptors/status/946196840482877441
The question was how the Raptors would hold up when Westbrook returned, and things got heated when he did – Valanciunas contested a drive with verticality and drew a foul on the loose ball, and Westbrook didn’t take kindly to Valanciunas trying to take the dead ball from him after. Adams got involved and the two centers had to be held apart, and Westbrook and Valanciunas wound up with matching technicals, one far more deserved than the other. Both players responded with aggressive buckets, but it was the Thunder making a run with the additional fuel on the fire, pulling even with a 12-4 run.
#PettyWarz pic.twitter.com/QVMbr0Su05
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) December 28, 2017
The quarter was really a lot of fun despite the weird skirmish and double-tech call. Adams picking up a third foul allowed Valanciunas to go to work before he picked up a third foul of his own, Westbrook threw down a tremendous dunk, and Lowry’s playmaking was really strong. The defense from the starters was wanting some, not exactly helped by some strong Thunder shot-making, and the defensive glass posed a huge problem even with Adams on the bench with the Raptors playing small. The healthy run bench-heavy groups had gone on with Westbrook mostly sitting was erased entirely, and a Jamaal Magloire-fueled Westbrook had the Thunder back ahead three at the break.
The starters continued to struggle to start the third, and Casey wasn’t willing to be patient as they worked through it. A 7-0 Thunder run not only saw Westbrook preening in front of the Raptors bench, it also brought a timeout less than two minutes into the half. Lowry and DeRozan looked hesitant to attack despite Adams playing with foul trouble, and the supporting cast was suffering through a second cold shooting night in a row outside of Miles.
Miles’ return understandably helped, then, and he continued firing whenever he was given the space, with his teammates looking for him eagerly. Poeltl had a pair of nice plays to get the ball to Miles, and Miles repaid him by nabbing a steal that led to a nice Poeltl basket as a trailer the other way. There was another delay at that point, with smoke coming from the rafters and a section of the crowd needing to be cleared out. Things stayed slow once the issue was resolved, as the Raptors went to hack-a-Roberson for a second time. If nothing else, it was an extended breather for a couple of tired key players.
https://twitter.com/imbeccable/status/946211834591191041
Casey went to the all-bench group earlier in the third than usual to buy some extra minutes for Lowry and DeRozan and because they went on a big run against a similar Westbrook-less lineup earlier. It wasn’t as effective here, though Miles stayed warm and the team did a nice job finding Poeltl on the dive, and the Raptors gave Norman Powell his first run of the game to look for a spark. He did not provide it. With the deficit up to 14 entering the fourth, DeRozan got an early call back in opposite a George-and-bench group, and DeRozan continued to struggle mightily scoring and striking the score-facilitate balance.
The Raptors didn’t exactly threaten here, and it seemed a formality when Westbrook and Adams returned to close things out. The Thunder pulled away even further, seamlessly rolling to a victory punctuated by a big Adams dunk and handing the Raptors a second consecutive loss for the first time in over a month.
https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/946219691961352192
Where Tuesday’s loss against Dallas was “one of those nights’ lacking in prescriptive problems and boiling down to equal parts lethargy and missing shots, Wednesday’s felt more meaningful, even with the back-to-back caveat. The starters looked shaky as a group against their first stiff competition in some time, and while they’ve built up enough cache to preach patience with, it warrants monitoring as the schedule turns more difficult again. The stars made some questionable decisions, and the team’s offensive strategy in general left some potential advantages on the table by playing how the opponent wanted them to. The bench played better and yet still struggles to create its own offense without Miles. The defense, which had vaulted to a top-five unit on the season, had little answer for an admittedly difficult team matchup-wise. And the offense reverted to some of its old – and on this night, ineffective – ways when Oklahoma City pulled away, which is not the preferred response to hardship.
Essentially, while the Mavericks represented just a loss, the Thunder offered a glimpse at what soft-schedule skeptics (or non-skeptics who took the streak for what it was) were worried about. It’s just a night, or just two nights, and there’s no real cause for panic. It is, however, a reminder of where in the schedule the Raptors are and the work that still lies ahead. The strong stretch was all kinds of encouraging; the truer tests begin now that some adversity is setting in, and this one was a little troublesome in that regard.
