Grades from Toronto Raptors’ tight victory vs Sacramento Kings

The Toronto Raptors made it three wins in a row as they knocked off the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. How did everyone grade in the win?

After a rough start to their west coast road trip, the Toronto Raptors are rolling with three straight wins after knocking off the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. It wasn’t always a clean-cut game, but it was a fun 48 minutes of basketball where the Raptors were able to prevail over a Kings team that still has a chance to make the playoffs.

It was a win that really came to life in the fourth quarter for the Raptors, though. Pascal Siakam had initially struggled for large parts of the game but came clutch in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of his 23 points in the final two and a half minutes of the ball game.

That, along with a strong game from Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell, was able to negate a bad performance by the bench. The back-up unit, led by Patrick McCaw and the returning Marc Gasol, was outscored 51-7 and was decimated when on the court. Gasol obviously showed signs of fatigue but also flashed a skill-set that will be so vital to the Raptors come playoff time.

His spacing, passing, and interior defense are all assets that mesh perfectly with this Raptors team. However, it’ll be interesting to see if Gasol will eventually become a starter once more or if Serge Ibaka will be rewarded during, potentially, the best season of his career.

Ibaka had 15 points and 10 rebounds and provided a sturdy presence on the glass for the Raptors, despite the team being killed 36-50 in the rebounds category. The Kings defended the interior particularly well too, but the Raptors were able to knock down 39-percent of their three-pointers, which included a combined 12 threes from Powell, who had a game-high 31 points, and Lowry who had an equally impressive 30.

With just one game left on the road trip, the Raptors can’t afford to show signs of fatigue. A tough game in Utah awaits them.