What a game in the Air Canada Centre! At halftime everything seems to be already decided, but in the end the Golden State Warriors (35-9) have to tremble for their victory. Toronto Raptors’ stunning comeback (29-12) remains uncrowned, the Dubs win after a wild 127:125 (BOXSCORE) finish.
Although the Warriors had a hard-won victory against the bucks from the night before in the bones: There was absolutely no sign of fatigue among the guests. Both teams showed a tremendous tempo from the beginning, but the Shootout was quite fast at the end of the first section in favour of the Dubs.
With a 9:2 run, Golden State broke away for the first time in this phase, and in the second quarter the disaster continued to take hold from Raptor’s point of view. With an outstanding offensive fireworks display, the Dubs overran their hosts in the truest sense of the word: 71.1 percent of their field throwing attempts were successful, at halftime they had 22 assists with only 1 turnover!
All in all, the race went 38:19 to Golden State, meanwhile the reigning champion was in front with 27 points. Toronto had never before been able to score as many points in the first half of the season as they did this evening (81). Accordingly, the air was quickly out in the Air Canada Centre. Only when Kevin Durant failed in a crashing darkness at the ring, it became loud.
However, this should change after the break tea. Toronto started into the third round with 14:6 thanks to a much improved defence. A few minutes later, the hosts worked out another 11-0 run with the help of good cuts and increased plays in the Warriors’ zone, with which the Canadians fought their way up to 9 points.
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This comeback attempt was led by DeMar DeRozan. Without Kyle Lowry (rib), who was still injured, the shooting guard took on the biggest offensive load. With 42 points (17/31 FG) DeRozan defended himself with all means against the imminent defeat. He was supported by OG Anunoby (17) and Fred VanVleet (13,4 Assists). Jakob Pöltl showed a good performance and scored 5 points as well as 6 rebounds. The Austrian was also on the scene during the crunchtime.
On the other hand, the Warriors did not meet much in the final section, especially in the halfcourt offense. The Raptors’ energy level had increased many times over the first half, and Golden State had to work extremely hard for each throw. That in turn enabled Toronto on the other hand to make a 14-0 run, which the home side to 113:111 about five minutes before the end. Afterwards, both teams did not give each other anything.
The decision was made in the final seconds. Durant sunk an ice-cold jumper over the outstretched arms of the Raptors Defense to bring the Warriors into front with 3 counters. In the subsequent counterattack, Toronto did not get a good throw. After a few Hustle-Plays, the ball landed at the Dubs and Stephen Curry secured his team victory from the free-throw line.
This was the twelfth straight victory for the Warriors. Curry ended up with 24 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds. The best thrower of the guests was Klay Thompson with 26 points, Durant contributed 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. The Raptors, on the other hand, could not reward themselves for their self-sacrificing comeback.
Toronto Raptors vs. Golden State Warriors: Click here for the BOXSCORE!
Kevin Durant. In the important moments, Durantula was there with his icy offense game – whether it was towards the end of the third quarter when he interrupted the Raptors’ run, or in the closing minutes. Durant had just halfway through two hands in his face, but apparently he didn’t let himself be impressed by it (10/18 FG).
Delon Wright. Replacing Kyle Lowry is not an easy task. But especially in the early stages of the game, Toronto missed a point guard who could have calmed down the game. Wright, however, was not a factor in the whole match and therefore didn’t make it in the decisive final stage.
Obviously, Raptors coach Dwane Casey’s game plan was to play tired with the guests from California. After all, the Warriors finished their fifth game in eight days, and Canada had to face a difficult back-to-back after the away game in Milwaukee last night. But there was no trace of fatigue. Head coach Steve Kerr left his Big Four unusually long on the floor in the first quarter. Durant even played the first 12 minutes completely. Even with the extremely high pace of the game Golden State didn’t have any problems – on the contrary, she played the dubs in the cards. Winning a shootout against the Warriors is almost impossible. Toronto learned it the hard way. It was the strong defence at half time two that brought the Canadians back into the match.