Nick Nurse Post-Mavericks Interview – October 26, 2018 – YouTube
Raptors stop Mavericks for franchise-best start at 6-0 | The Star
Doncic’s got game: Dallas rookie Luca Doncic didn’t let being guarded by Leonard derail his night. The 19-year-old looked comfortable in leading the Mavericks with 22 points and was crucial to his team’s strong third quarter.
Pain without gain: Raptor Delon Wright missed another game with a left adductor strain, while Fred VanVleet was out for a second straight time with a sprained left big toe. OG Anunoby was also inactive for personal reasons. Missing three rotation players proved tough as the team struggled for consistency throughout the game. Dallas, meanwhile, was without Dennis Smith Jr. (ankle), Dirk Nowitzki (ankle) and Devin Harris (hamstring).
Rare dishes: Lowry became the first Raptor with 10 or more assists in four straight games since Jose Calderon in 2012.
Scene and heard: Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman caught the game courtside with former teammate Jose Bautista, who received a rousing cheer when he appeared on the video board … Dallas centre DeAndre Jordan showed up wearing a Hamilton Tiger-Cats jersey from his brother Avery Jordan, a Ticats left tackle who is currently injured … Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson made his first NBA start. His dad, Rick Brunson, played for the Raptors in 2003. The Mav and Kyle Lowry are also Villanova alums.
9 observations from the Dallas Mavericks’ loss versus the Toronto Raptors, 116-107 – Mavs Moneyball
I do not understand Luka Doncic’s role
There’s more to say on this later, because it’s best to have more than a five game sample size before reaching a sweeping conclusion.And yet, through five games Doncic appears to be the best player on the team. Perhaps Harrison Barnes will assume that title when he gets more games under his belt. Through five games, he’s averaging 19.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while getting to the line 4.6 times per game.
He’s doing all this while going long stretches where he doesn’t see the ball on offense unless it’s in transition. Doncic’s best skill is his vision and Dallas doesn’t put him in a lot of situations where he can utilize that skill on set plays outside of the occasional side pick and roll. It’s early, but I expected more creativity with his usage.
It’s fine if the Mavericks don’t want to acknowledge that he’s their best option at point guard. There might be good reasons for that (like how winded he looks, which may be the theme through December) but at minimum they have to get him more involved in the offense.
Timely defence propels Raptors to best start in franchise history – Sportsnet.ca
They came from some surprising places. The Raptors were without both of their second-unit guards as Delon Wright (groin) and Fred VanVleet (strained toe) were out. Also missing was second-year wing OG Anunoby. That meant the first steady dose of prime-time minutes for Lorenzo Brown, last year’s G-League MVP who made the team on a partially guaranteed contract.
Early in the fourth he stepped into a three that pushed the Raptors’ lead to eight, and then after a Dallas timeout he made a steal and went the length of the court to push the lead to 10, which stayed there for a few minutes until another Brown steal and lay-up pushed it to 12. During the fourth quarter Toronto held Dallas to 18 points on 7-of-24 shooting while forcing seven turnovers. Pascal Siakam had a steal and took it the length of the floor too.
“I just felt like I should pressure the ball a little bit more ’cause I feel like they were a little bit shaky at the PG position,” said Brown, who finished with nine points and two steals in 15 minutes. “So doing that helped me get going and helped the team as well.”
Kyle Lowry Post-Mavericks Interview – October 26, 2018 – YouTube
Record start and there's still more the Raptors can do | The Star
The Mavericks made it a closer game than it probably should have been on more than a few occasions – the Raptors really didn’t play well at times and that’s an issue – but Toronto was able to pull itself together.
At one point in the second quarter, Dallas made a bunch of threes and cut what was a 16-point deficit to five when Nick Nurse needed a timeout.
They proceeded to score on four of their next five possessions, a pretty solid conversion rate, to take back control.
The same scenario repeated itself a few times and the Raptors know they can’t get away with that forever.
Sayeth Lowry:
“Concentration level, just keeping it going. We know it’s a 48-minute game. We’ve got to stay locked in for 48. We had some good stretches throughout, but we had some that we could’ve been better.”
Pascal Siakam Post-Mavericks Interview – October 26, 2018 – YouTube
“I went out there and played and didn’t have a re-injury,” Barnes said. “That’s a step forward. The rhythm will come.”
He finished with 14 points and six rebounds. He put in nearly 30 minutes, although his stretches on the court were kept a few minutes shorter than normal.
“He’s a high-level player that we haven’t had,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s a guy you can throw the ball to and he can create. Not having him has been tough. Anytime you bring a guy back after basically sitting out a month, to get his rhythm is going to take awhile. But we’re going to get him right into the flow.”
CJ Miles Post-Mavericks Interview – October 26, 2018 – YouTube
Final Score Recap: Raptors beat the Mavericks 116-107 behind total team effort – Raptors HQ
Despite a restoration of their 17-point lead in the third, the Raptors were up by just one point, 90-89, with a minute and half to go in the frame. Toronto was paced throughout by superlative work from Kyle Lowry, who finished the night with 20 points (on 8-of-14 shooting) and 12 assists, with zero turnovers; Kawhi Leonard quietly did his thing too, putting in 21 on 7-of-16 shooting, along with nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. In truth, with those two on the court, the risk factor of the Raptors losing was low. But those two couldn’t play all 48 minutes.
So, yeah, a one-point lead. The Raptors did have to contend with some strong play from Mavs rookie Luka Doncic (22 points, 7-of-14 shooting), a big 18-and-15 from DeAndre Jordan, and some spirited play form Wesley Matthews (21 points). After that trio however, Dallas’ ability to withstand Toronto waned — they never managed to get closer than one. A field goal drought of about six minutes, stretching between the end of the third and well into the fourth, allowed the Raptors to push their lead back up 13 in the final frame. And wouldn’t you know it: the surge to victory was lead in part by Brown, he of G League fame, the Raptors’ fourth string point guard.
