The Toronto Raptors finally had reasons for optimism ahead of their game against the Detroit Pistons. Not only were Norman Powell and the Raptors welcoming Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam back into the fold, but they were playing one of the worst teams in the league.
This had all the ingredients for a stabilizing win. However, Toronto wilted under the pressure, losing their sixth straight contest.
The nightmare of the last five games finally continues, as the Raptors lost 116-112 to the Pistons. VanVleet and Siakam finally made their return to the lineup, alongside Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw.
Toronto’s offense wasn’t the greatest but Powell was the best player on the court on Wednesday night with a career-high 43 points.
Norman Powell carried the Toronto Raptors
Toronto saw themselves playing catchup all throughout the first half. The one consistent source of offense was the play of Powell. The 6-foot-3 guard shot 8-10 in the first half, tallying 21 points within the first 24 minutes of action.
It was clear to how much the Raptors were struggling without OG Anunoby. Defense and rebounding became a major issue, which lasted for the duration of the game.
Detroit maintained a decent cushion and refuse to relinquish their lead from Toronto. After leading by six at the end of the first, the Raptors would cut into the lead by one, going into halftime to a score of 63-57.
The tone was set early in the second half, and it was set by the Raptors. Toronto would go on a 9-0 run led by Powell to take their first lead since it was 14-12. Powell made an absurd corner three-pointer, drifting out of bounds off an inbound pass that gave the entire roster a jolt of energy.
It wouldn’t be smooth sailing from there, as the Pistons made a run of their own, going up as much as eight. Detroit was doing most of their damage on the glass from second-chance opportunities, which was the biggest weakness for the Raptors for the entirety of the game.
The Toronto Raptors didn’t put together a complete performance
Despite the amazing play from Powell, there was just no other offensive support from the rest of the Raptors lineup. The offense looked completely stagnant while Powell took a breather on the bench.
After a stretch of back and forth play, a three by VanVleet triggered a mini 5-0 run, bringing the Raptors right back into the game. Toronto refused to go down without a fight and kept making attempts to take control of the game.
With under 3 minutes remaining the Raptors were able to cut the lead down to five, and continued to get stop after stop. Boucher would soon make it a three-point game but would be responded by a three from Josh Jackson. Toronto was just unable to overcome that deficit, as Detroit began to create separation within the final moments of the game.
The last-minute of the game turned into over five minutes in real-time, as the Raptors played the foul game in hopes to extend the game long enough to possibly make a run to win. Powell continued his heroics with a huge four-point play, cutting the lead to just three after missing the free throw.
However, Jerami Grant came back the other way with a clutch step-back dagger over Kyle Lowry to give the Pistons a five-point lead. Powell’s magical night continued with another miraculous 3-pointer to cut the lead to just two points.
Saadiq Bey would eventually get fouled and would seal the game by making both free throws. Despite a career-high 43 points from Powell, the second-highest Raptor scorer was 21 points from Chris Boucher.
VanVleet and Siakam were a combined 5-26 from the floor, and that putrid percentage couldn’t overcome 28 from Bey, 23 from Grant, 18 from Delon Wright, and 16 from Josh Jackson.
The Raptors will need to shift gears towards their next game against the best team in the NBA, the Utah Jazz.