Raptors rout Warriors; rusty Pistons fail to fire
Los Angeles, Dec. 19: Fred Van Vleet finished with 27 points and 12 assists and Scottie Barnes tallied 21 points as the Toronto Raptors rolled over the undermanned Golden State Warriors 119-100 on Saturday.
The Warriors were missing several of their top players, including Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, who had been on the current road trip but did not make the trip to Canada.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr elected to send them home after a win over Boston on Friday rather than risk them getting the coronavirus and have to potentially quarantine in Canada. Andre Iguodala (right knee), Otto Porter Jr. (left foot) and Andrew Wiggins (left knee) were also sent back to California.
The Warriors dressed just nine players for the fifth game of their eight day road swing.
The Raptors were playing for the first time since Thursday’s game against the Chicago Bulls was postponed for Covid-19 reasons.
The Raptors were also missing key performers as an hour before tipoff, forward Pascal Siakam and guard Dalano Banton entered health protocols.
Making his first NBA start, rookie Jonathan Kuminga led Golden State with a season-best
26 points.
The Raptors jumped out to a 25-10 lead in the first eight minutes. VanVleet had eight points, Chris Boucher had seven and Barnes six during the early scoring burst.
Elsewhere, Christian Wood scored a team high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Houston Rockets handed the Detroit Pistons their 14th consecutive loss with a 116-107 victory. Playing against his former team, Wood led the Rockets who had all five starters scoring in double figures.
Eric Gordon tallied 18 points and five assists, Garrison Mathews 16 points, and Jae’Sean Tate had 11 points in the win. Kenyon Martin Jr. (10 points, 11 rebounds) added a double-double off the bench as Houston shot 49.5 per cent from the floor. The hapless Pistons committed 20 turnovers and made just 10 of 36 three point attempts.