Mavericks 98 – Raptors 93 – The Trap Game
The Raptors’ Christmas present was the top spot in the Eastern Conference. But in a matchup with the struggling Mavericks, they managed to blow it on Boxing Day.
Dallas came into Tuesday night’s Boxing Day matchup with Toronto as the worst team in the Western Conference and second-worst in the NBA. Sitting on only 9 wins almost halfway through the season, they looked like easy pickings. The Raptors had won 12 of their last 13 and was riding high after Christmas Day losses by Boston and Cleveland had vaulted them into the top seed in the Eastern Conference (at least by win %). On the first leg of a back-to-back with Oklahoma City and their formidable big 3 looming, the game against Dallas seemed little more than a warmup to work off some Christmas turkey.
Dallas Grinds It Out
Alas, it was not to be. The Raptors struggled early and never quite got their offense together. Good defense – or bad offense – was the key to this game on both sides of the ball. Led by the ageless combo of JJ Barea and Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas proved to be a feistier opponent than their record would have suggested, taking the game 98-93.
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The Mavericks nursed a lead through the first half and only gave up control for a few minutes around the six-minute mark of the third quarter. After the Raptors came back to grab a seven-point lead, it appeared that the better team had finally showed up. But the Raptors immediately went into a scoring drought which lasted into the final minute of the third, and entered the fourth trailing by eight. In the final quarter, the defense showed up but the offense didn’t. Raptors shooters missed wide-open threes left and right. Generally, they proved incapable of stringing any kind of consistent offense together. Despite holding the Mavericks to a scoring drought of their own for six-plus minutes of crunch time, the Raps just couldn’t bring it back to even.
Bricky DeRozan
The biggest culprit in this game was DeMar DeRozan, who logged just 8 points on a woeful 3-16 shooting night. DeRozan seemed to be fighting both a Christmas hangover and the referees. He was repeatedly hacked by defenders and unable to get any kind of a rhythm going. Kyle Lowry was great, picking up 23 points and a team-leading +16 (in a loss!), but it just wasn’t enough without any support. Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka managed to each record double-doubles and were the second and third-most effective Raptors on the night, but on a night where DeRozan didn’t show up and the bench play was spotty at best, it simply wasn’t enough.
Barea Turns Back The Clock
For the Mavericks, Barea keyed the run in the third where they took control of the game en route to a team-leading 20 points. Nowitzki potted an easy 18. Wes Matthews made up for a bad offensive night with stifling defense on DeRozan. And rookie forward Maxi Kleber put up a strong performance in limited minutes. Despite these performances, though, this really felt like a game that the Raptors blew. It’s understandable enough – one night after Christmas, the Raptors could easily be excused for letting a trap game catch them.
Next, the Raptors head off to OKC for the second half of the back-to-back. We’ll see if the good DeRozan shows up to that one.