Toronto Raptors: 3 best team games so far in 2020-21 season
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors have had their fair share of lowlights this season, as the Raptors limped to a 2-8 start and have only recently started to make up some ground.
Despite the very slow start, Nick Nurse and the Raptors proved that when the chips are down, they are capable of putting together some memorable performances every now and again. When Nurse’s perimeter defense is clicking and their array of shooters connect from deep, the Raptors showed that they can take down some of the best teams in the league.
These three Toronto Raptors games were the best performances the team has had all season long
3. Jan. 8 (144-123) vs. Sacramento Kings
The Toronto Raptors finally woke up on offense against Sacramento
Toronto’s West Coast trip did bring them some gut-punch losses, but their first game against the Kings showed what the Raptors can do when everything is clicking on the offensive end. It was Fred VanVleet who led the charge on the evening, scoring 34 points on 13-22 shooting while making five of his nine attempts from three-point range. Chris Boucher ate up Marvin Bagler and Richaun Holmes on the inside, scoring 23 points and pulling down 10 times. Even Terence Davis chimed in on the fun with 18 points of his own in the 144-point outburst.
While Sacramento remains the worst defensive team in the league, an excuse that can be used to slightly write off this performance, it was beautiful to see all of Toronto’s much-maligned bench start to turn it on just like they did during their championship season. While the 123 points allowed are not ideal, this was by far Toronto’s best offensive performance of the year. As tempting as it is to blow this roster up, nights like this one prove that they can get hot from beyond the arc and make some noise.