The game was near parity in the first half. The Raptors had a dominant third quarter, winning 44-26, but re-asserted their supremacy in clutch time en route to a 121-112 victory.
This time, Joel Embiid and Kelly Oubre were out, and Poetl was back. The intensity and pace of the game reignited an old rivalry.
In the third, IQ splashed a 3-ball on his former Kentucky teammate and top-three league scorer Tyrese Maxey. This came after IQ ran a high pick-and-roll with Scottie, got downhill with a full head of steam, pitched the ball to Poeltl, and relocated. Maxey lost sight of him and was way too late to close out. This was retribution for Maxey breaking IQ’s ankles earlier in the first quarter.
The bench also contributed to the Raps’ third quarter dominance. Ja’Kobe Walter, who played the first quarter with pizzazz, cashed two triples. Dick had back-to-back baseline drives, scoring the first one after Walter got his man in the air. Dick’s second baseline drive resulted in a wild pass to Mamu on the weakside wing, a better decision than a one-pass away to Barnes. This helped Mamu get to the charity stripe.
The IQ-Mamu pick-and-roll actions at the end of the third were fun to watch, too. The first one was a high PnR — IQ rejected the screen, threw a pocket pass to Mamu, who touched the paint and swung the ball to Walter in the corner. The second PnR was a traditional one with Mamu rolling to the basket.
Last night, Mamu’s performance meant even more because Trendon Watford, who signed a similar contract to Mamu’s two-year deal in free agency, had a triple-double last game.
The Raps led by 15 points at the end of the third quarter, but had a difficult time maintaining the lead. A Quentin Grimes triple made it a three-point game and forced the game into clutch time.
But the Raps went to to their bread and butter. Poeltl set a screen on IQ, and Barnes threw a high-low pass into Poeltl for the bucket.
Barnes may have only had 16 points and, unfortunately, six of his team’s 14 turnovers, but he was finding open players on the perimeter at the end of the game. Scottie attacked the paint and found RJ, who hit the triple, in the exact same spot that he found IQ in earlier.
IQ’s big 3-pointer, off a Poeltl screen, seemed to put the game away for good, and the Raps closed out the game comfortably.
