Raptors find fight, but struggles against top teams persist

TORONTO — The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder would be the defending NBA champions till someday in mid-to-late June. 

They continue to be favourites to be champions once more, but the group that was on the ground at Scotiabank Enviornment are usually not these guys. 

Not with defending MVP (and defending Finals MVP) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander again residence in Oklahoma nursing an stomach harm that has stored him out for 10 video games and counting, and all-NBA wing Jalen Williams out with a foul hamstring and Ajay Mitchell — their newly found bench sparkplug — out now for 14 video games and counting. 

They’re making an attempt to navigate a post-championship season that has been extra notable for who has not been taking part in than who has. Gilgeous-Alexander has now joined fellow starters Luguentz Dort (12), Isaiah Hartenstein (27) and Williams (33) for the doubtful distinction of getting missed double-digit video games via the Thunder’s 59^th begin. As nicely, key reserves Mitchell (16), Aaron Wiggins (16) and Alex Caruso (21) have missed vital time. 

But in some way the Thunder proceed to roll. 

They have been in a position to squeeze out a 116-107 win over the Raptors that they earned because of a dominant second and third quarter the place they out-scored Toronto by 27, and a incredible flurry within the ultimate 4 minutes. They completed with a 15-point surge, shutting down a Raptors rally that noticed them come again down 24 with one minute left within the third to tie it up with simply over 4 minutes left.

For the Raptors (34-24), it was one other loss to a top quality group, this one slightly extra regarding since Scottie Barnes left the sport early after bruising his proper thigh in a collision with Hartenstein. Barnes might be listed as questionable because the Raptors host the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday evening. 

For the Thunder (45-14), it was yet another little bit of proof that their championship pedigree extends previous Gilgeous-Alexander or Williams and runs right through most of their rotation. On Tuesday evening, it was Cason Wallace — the Thunder’s third-year on-ball stopper and the league-leader in steals — who exploded for 27 factors, eight rebounds and 7 assists. His run included six fast factors after the Raptors had tied the sport on a Jamal Shead three with 4:06 to play. In the meantime, Canadian nationwide group star Dort shed his defence-first status (although not earlier than serving to maintain Raptors main scorer Brandon Ingram to 14 factors on 14 photographs) lengthy sufficient to attain 4 of his 15 factors within the ultimate minutes on a pair of powerful jumpers with the sport within the stability. 

“We’ve been in lots of these conditions earlier than, clearly we’re nonetheless with out our fundamental guys, but we all know that now we have to execute and find the very best shot that we are able to get,” stated Dort. “Credit score to the Raptors, they didn’t hand over, but down the stretch we needed to find the very best photographs, which we did.”

It was a well-recognized state of affairs for the Raptors, too. The loss dropped Toronto to 4-14 against the top 10 teams within the league by profitable share. Three of these wins got here against a (then) struggling Cleveland Cavaliers group early within the season and the opposite got here on the highway against a short-handed Thunder group again in January, though that model did have Gilgeous-Alexander within the lineup. 

It’s a little bit of a excellent news, unhealthy information story: It’s not nothing that the Raptors are 30-10 against the league’s different 19 teams, but beating good teams is important if all that work goes to ship one thing within the post-season.

“I imply, we made an enormous soar from the place we have been final yr, like, the place have been we final yr versus now?” stated RJ Barrett, who led the Raptors with 21 factors on 8-of-15 taking pictures, together with 4-of-6 from three, his finest offensive outing since coming back from knee and ankle accidents that compelled him to overlook 24 video games in a 30-game stretch over December and January. The Raptors received simply 30 video games all season, was his level. 

“A whole lot of these teams have already been good, already been in playoff conditions [or] like tonight, received a championship. They have already got these guys which can be battle-tested.

“It’s good for us to play these teams proper now, undergo these powerful losses throughout the season so we’ll determine it out,” Barrett added. “Detroit recreation we acquired blown out [just prior to the all-star break], tonight we went down and fought all the way in which again, so we’re already studying and we acquired to proceed to be taught and scratch and claw and beat these good teams.”

They definitely have some blueprints they might work from, specifically how they carried out throughout the first and fourth quarters — or not less than till these ultimate 4 minutes. 

The Raptors jumped out to a 32-25 lead after the primary as they compelled the Thunder into six turnovers in 12 minutes, persevering with the ferocious perimeter defence they’ve proven for the reason that all-star break in highway wins over Chicago (23 turnovers with 14 steals) and Milwaukee (19 turnovers with 11 steals). 

It was the Raptors at their finest. Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles (4 factors, 4 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in half-hour), beginning at centre for Jakob Poeltl (out resting his again), acquired his palms on seemingly each move the Thunder tried to throw. Barnes (15 factors, seven assists, three steals and 4 blocks), again within the lineup after lacking Sunday’s recreation for private causes, stripped Caruso’s dribble on consecutive possessions, every turning into transition lay-ups, giving the Raptors a 10-point lead — their high-water mark for the sport. 

They reprised that power for a nine-minute stretch bridging the top of the third quarter and first eight minutes of the fourth as they went on a 27-3 run the place they held the Thunder to 1-of-15 taking pictures and compelled them into seven turnovers. OKC regarded very very like a group needing the defending MVP to bail them out. 

“I imply [the Raptors] defend very well,” stated Dort. “The strain and the way in which they flip us over was extraordinarily powerful, but clearly it’s onerous to strain for 48 minutes and we needed to find a strategy to break that.”

They did. It started within the second quarter when the Thunder started caring for the ball and a few of their secondary scorers acquired cooking. 

Wallace — getting all the purpose guard reps he might hope for with Gilgeous-Alexander out — exploded for 13 of his game-high 27, making all 5 of his subject objective makes an attempt, together with three triples. The Thunder led 60-51 at half. 

Within the third quarter, it was three-point specialist Isaiah Joe shaking free, pulling down 5 threes, together with two for four-point performs, ending with 19 factors within the body and pushing OKC’s result in as excessive as 25 — creating an 18-point cushion to begin the fourth. Over the pivotal second and third quarters, OKC had simply 5 turnovers whereas forcing the Raptors into seven. Associated, the Raptors’ offence cratered, as they scored simply 48 factors over the center two frames. 

“I want I had the solutions. Hopefully the movie goes to assist us perceive higher, but the second, third quarter was not us, and it was not our identification,” stated Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, as his group allowed the Thunder to shoot 54 per cent over the center two intervals. “That was not what we did within the first quarter to begin the sport. We have been dictating and dominating on the offensive finish, creating lots of turnovers, which fueled our offence and we took our foot [off the] fuel.”

They acquired onto the fuel once more within the fourth and made it a recreation. The Raptors deserve loads of credit score for that. But two good quarters are usually not going to chop it against the NBA’s higher teams, and definitely not against the defending champion Thunder — even the short-handed model.

Barnes in good spirits: The Raptors’ workhorse banged his leg on Hartenstein’s knee with 3:38 to play and instantly limped to the bench. The Raptors have been down two on the time. The Thunder rapidly scored on a lay-up from Wallace, a triple from Joe and a jumper by Dort. Barnes subbed again in with the Raptors all of a sudden down 9 with 2:29 to play and was subbed out once more 90 seconds later. Within the locker room, he gave the impression to be in an excellent temper, joking with locker mates Ingram and Jamal Shead, but may very well be seen rubbing the within of his proper thigh or knee space earlier than going for remedy post-game. Barnes has missed simply two video games this season, and the Raptors received his 32 minutes against the Thunder by 18 factors. 

To the winners go the spoils: When Dort spoke with the media after the Thunder’s win, he had a large diamond-encrusted necklace on over his black turtleneck sweater. On the finish of the chain was a pendant formed as a wolf’s head, roughly the dimensions of a toddler’s hand. It’s his championship wolf, Dort advised me, a present to himself for profitable the NBA title final yr. His final title, translated, means wolf. “A [championship]ring wasn’t sufficient,” he stated, laughing. 

Silver lining for SGA? Gilgeous-Alexander has performed lots of high-pressure basketball up to now three years. To evaluation: the Canadian nationwide group star led the Thunder to the second spherical of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, helped the Thunder to the second spherical of the 2024 playoffs, led Canada to a fifth-place end on the 2024 Olympics and helped the Thunder to their first-ever championship final summer season. Chances are high he’ll be taking part in deep into June this yr and past, whereas the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics aren’t all that far sooner or later. In that context, is lacking a month or extra of basketball (he’s been out since February third and might be re-evaluated subsequent week) the worst factor? “He desires to play, he doesn’t need to miss video games and he didn’t need to miss this recreation, I’ll inform you that, in order that’s a excessive price to him,” stated Thunder head coach Mark Daigenault. “… But getting an excellent reprieve out of this [could be a benefit] — not that he would ever need that — but you may’t combat your circumstances.”