RAPTORS110, MAVERICKS107
Bench steps up to provide offence for short-handed Raps
Kyle Lowry will receive most of the praise, but the Raptors’ bench deserves credit for its role in a franchise first.
Toronto pulled off the largest comeback victory in franchise history on Sunday afternoon. Lowry was the star with 32 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter, but he received plenty of help from some unlikely sources in the 110-107 win over Dallas.
Chris Boucher finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 18 with nine rebounds, two assists and a steal. Terence Davis scored all nine of his points in the fourth. Lowry deserves recognition for taking over the game, and the win doesn’t happen without him, but he wasn’t alone.
“We had a great team effort,” Lowry said after Toronto’s sixth consecutive win. “Malcolm (Miller), Terence Davis, Rondae and Chris Boucher. I give them all the credit today. They won that game for us. Malcolm got a few steals, T.D. hit a couple of big threes. Chris with his defections and blocked shots. Rondae with his putbacks and hustle effort. Give those guys the credit man, seriously.”
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse began his day heaping praise on the Mavericks, who had been playing well despite losing Luka Doncic to injury earlier this month. Nurse marvelled at some of Dallas’ recent moves and praised the organization for amassing so much depth. There was truth in what Nurse said, and yet it was Toronto’s reserves, not the Mavericks’, who were difference makers on Sunday.
Thanks in large part to Boucher and Hollis-Jefferson, Toronto’s bench outscored Dallas’s 48-20. Most of the highlights will focus on Lowry’s dominating finish, but in that final frame Boucher scored 12, Davis added nine and HollisJefferson had six. A team that shot under 35 per cent during each of the first three quarters shot 56 per cent in the last quarter, including 54.5 per cent from deep.
“It was one of the craziest games I’ve been to,” Boucher said. “Even right now I’m just realizing we were down 20 and what we had to do come back. I’m definitely going to go watch the game again and see how exciting this game was, and how the fans helped us so much, just by cheering with us. We could feel down on the court how much they wanted us to win this game. It was probably one of the best games I’ve been to, for real.”
Delon returns: Delon Wright made his first return to Scotiabank Arena since last year’s trade with Memphis (along with Jonas Valanciunas and C.J. Miles) for centre Marc Gasol. Wright was treated to a standing ovation during a video tribute between the first and second quarters. The 20th pick of the 2015 draft went 1-for-7 from the field and finished with five points and five rebounds. Torontonian Dwight Powell scored 17 points with nine rebounds in his homecoming.
Dewan down: Add centre Dewan Hernandez to the list of the Raptors’ walking wounded. The 23-year-old has been diagnosed with a sprained ankle and it’s not immediately clear when he will return. Hernandez was recently recalled from the Raptors 905, but he did not make an appearance in Friday night’s victory over Washington. Hernandez joins Pascal Siakam, Norman Powell, Marc Gasol, Stanley Johnson and Matt Thomas on Toronto’s injured list.
Up next: The Raptors will have their hands full in the post when they travel to Indiana for a matchup against Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday against a Pacers team that had won five consecutive games before dropping a 117-89 decision to first-place Milwaukee on Sunday night.