Fourth-quarter comeback by Raptors one for the ages
Four non-starters combine with Lowry to key team-record comeback against Dallas
Christmas came early for the Toronto Raptors on Sunday afternoon.
Down 23 points heading into the final quarter and seemingly out of this one, coach Nick Nurse decided to try one last thing before calling off his main dogs and saving whatever energy was left for Monday’s game in Indianapolis.
Nurse never made that next call.
His full-court press not only changed the momentum, it changed the entire game as the Raptors started dominating the visiting Dallas Mavericks. At about the same time, Kyle Lowry, who was as cold as any other Raptor on a day when no one was even close to lukewarm from a shooting standpoint through the first three quarters, suddenly couldn’t miss. That combination proved to be enough to turn that deficit into a 110-107 win, the fifth victory in a row for a Toronto team down two starters and its first sub off the bench.
At one point in the third quarter, the Raptors were down by 30, making this the largest comeback in franchise history and breaking the old mark of 25 set in 2010 in a game against the Detroit Pistons.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the comeback was the largest in the NBA since Sacramento rallied from a 30-point deficit to defeat Chicago in December 2009.
The 47 fourth-quarter points by the Raptors were also a franchise record.
Lowry, who through three quarters had 12 points on 5-for13 shooting, poured in 20 in the final 12 minutes, going 4-for-6 from distance and 7-for-10 on all shots to seal the win.
Lowry, though, was adamant the credit for the comeback go to the four guys around him for that game-changing frame. That none of the four were fellow starters only made the moment that much more special.
Rondae Hollis-jefferson, Malcolm Miller, Terence Davis and Chris Boucher started the quarter with Lowry and all four were right there with Lowry the whole way, except for when Miller came out with 1:37 to go for another shooter in Fred Vanvleet and Davis came out with a second to go in order to get Serge Ibaka in for just-in-case defensive purposes.
“I didn’t do it,” Lowry said when it sounded like all the credit was headed his way. “We had a great team effort. Malcolm, Terence Davis, Rondae and Chris Boucher, I give them all the credit today. They won that game for us. Malcolm got a few steals, TD hit a couple of big threes, Chris with his deflections and blocked shots, Rondae with his putbacks and hustle effort. Give those guys the credit man, seriously.”
Lowry isn’t wrong. Those four deserve a ton of credit as well, but without Lowry hitting shot after shot, this comeback story doesn’t have a happy ending.
For whatever reason, Lowry playing with a bench unit has historically been a good mix for the Raptors. Back in the days of the Bench Mob, the most effective lineups were Lowry with four subs.
Nurse even has a theory about why it’s successful.
“You know how I’m always talking about going through your primary guys first and then those (other) guys have to be opportunity scorers and I think that’s really what it turned into,” Nurse said. “(For) Kyle, (it’s) make the play, take the shot or find the kick-out or find the cutter or whatever. I think that just organizes you. They were all like, ‘Do your thing and we’ll chip in where we can.’ And we had just enough cuts and Terence makes a three and Rondae a layup here, Chris on a tip-in, just enough plays off of Kyle’s initial actions.”
Hollis-jefferson, who had six points in the turnaround fourth, summed it up: “He’s (Lowry) our veteran, our leader, so at the end of the day, it comes down to do what you do and we’re going to handle all that other stuff. That’s pretty much the way that went.”
The Raptors went into fullcourt press mode for the bulk of that fourth quarter and it resulted in seven turnovers and 11 points off those turnovers.
With Lowry calling out the coverages, this unique five-man unit pulled together.
The Mavericks took the loss hard, as one would expect, with head coach Rick Carlisle pointing the finger directly at himself.
“Very disappointing loss,” Carlisle said. “I take full responsibility for it. We got to a point where we lost our aggression. Give them credit, they did a great job with the trap, but we didn’t respond well enough to it and that’s on me.”
Toronto will not have long to celebrate the greatest comeback in team history. The Raptors were on a charter to Indianapolis, where they will take on the Pacers Monday before returning home to take on the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day.