Raptors spread wealth in sinking Mavericks

It was fitting that on Martin Luther King Day, the Toronto Raptors went the equality route.

In the first half, it was all the bench and it had to be because outside of Kyle Lowry, the Raptors’ starters were AWOL.

But in the third quarter the rest of the Raptors starters, or at least most of them, found the range and the desire and the Raptors enjoyed their first win in ages that didn’t become a nail-biter in coasting to a 116-93 win.

With the victory, the Raptors improve to 5-8. It was their season-best third win in a row, while the Mavericks — who are missing four players and dealing with a serious run of positive tests for the novel coronavirus — fell to 6-7.

The Raptors though, quite frankly, have issues of their own and have no time for empathy for an opponent’s issues. Not after the rough start to their own season.

Toronto did a monster job Monday night on Luka Doncic, the only real threat to take over a game that the Mavs have right now with all their injuries.

The job was a team effort with OG Anunoby and Fred Vanvleet taking turns when the starters were on the floor and then, once Stanley Johnson got into the game off the bench and showed he could do the job on Doncic, he got extended minutes on him.

Johnson was so good at frustrating Doncic that the future league MVP lost his cool all together at one point and swung a rather dangerous looking elbow at Johnson’s head.

The nasty move went undetected by the officials, who responded when Vanvleet complained about it by giving the Raptors guard a technical. The Raptors got the last laugh, though, as the next time down the floor they engineered a wide open three for Johnson, who calmed drained it.

For the game Doncic was limited to just 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists — a complete game by any other standards but an off night for Doncic.

Meanwhile, Lowry — as he so often does — set the pace and eventually dragged everyone along with him.

The Raptors’ point guard finished with a team-best 23 points, seven assists and nine rebounds. Pascal Siakam, who started slowly, picked things up in the second half and finished with 19 points and five assists.

The Raps were only in the game because of its bench through a half.

Other than Lowry, who had 11 points in the first half, no other Raptors starter had more than four and the four not named Lowry combined for 10.

The three-ball, which was so much the Raptors’ friend a game earlier in their win over Charlotte, was very much not on good terms with the Raps in the first half.

Chris Boucher

Lowry knocked down a second and that was it for the Raptors on 17 attempts.

Fortunately, the bench production from the past few games was once again with the Raptors last night as Terence Davis, got in the game and made a statement with his assertive play going to the rim.

Davis came off the bench and gave the Raptors six quick points in that second quarter.

It complemented the 11 from Boucher, who continues to earn his minutes, and seven from Norm Powell, who was coming off that strong 24-point effort in the previous game vs. Charlotte.

Even with all that, the best the Raptors could do against this undermanned Mavs squad was get to the locker-room at the half even with the visitors.