Raptors 108 – Kings 93: Farewell, Air Canada Carter
By Brian Boake
The Raptors had their hands full with the lowly Kings. However, a renewed commitment to defense kept the visitors at bay.
The Toronto Raptors were unpleasantly surprised by the Sacramento Kings in Sunday afternoon’s matchup. The visitors were brilliant in the first half, draining shots from everywhere. For example, their seventh of twelve 3-balls was heaved by George Hill from the other side of the time line as the halftime buzzer sounded…off the glass and in.
Coach Dwane Casey surely let his charges know how disappointed he was in their defense. 63 points allowed to the lowest scoring team in the NBA – is this a joke? They took the message to heart, and to the floor. The Raptors allowed 30 points in the second half. Even some Q3 shooting woes couldn’t slow down another win.
The Raptors’ defense improved dramatically in the second half. Formerly open shots were being contested, 24-second violations were common, and Toronto’s shot blockers were everywhere. Even without Serge Ibaka, who was shelved due to a sore knee, the Raptors turned the paint into an unpleasant place for Kings to visit.
Meantime, the Raptors couldn’t get out of their own way on offense. Pascal Siakam has completely forgotten how to shoot, with his woeful game capped by a pair of missed bunnies late in Q4. C.J. Miles had several open looks from distance early in Q3, but clanked them all. DeMar DeRozan cobbled together a 21- point result, but missed 3 free throws and a bunch of jumpers.
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Happily, Norman Powell amassed a perfect shooting afternoon on his way to 14 points. OG Anunoby was on target again from beyond the arc. His rebounding and shot-blocking kept him on the floor. Jonas Valanciunas drew a bunch of fouls, and his free throws enabled him to rack up a double-double despite missing most of his shots. Kyle Lowry missed all but one of his 2-point field goals, but made up for that with four long balls.
Delon Wright got some minutes, and hit a timely 3-ball. He played tentatively, but still committed three turnovers. Three steals was a decent recompense.
For the Kings, Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a number of impressive shots. However, the Kings sat Zach Randolph, and their interior scoring suffered mightily as a result.
Vince Carter was subbed off with 12 seconds remaining, in order to receive a huge ovation from the Air Canada Centre crowd. Many of those in attendance would only know VC from videos, but those of us who saw him live won’t forget it – ever.
I’m glad the boobirds stayed home. Vince’s impact on the Raptors, and basketball in Canada, is hard to overstate.
Toronto is on the road once more, with a midweek back-to-back in Charlotte and Philadelphia.