Fred VanVleet and the Toronto Raptors were dealt a major blow right before their home game against native Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the suddenly red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder. It was announced that VanVleet’s nemesis, Ben Taylor, was going to be one of the three officials working this contest.
VanVleet has been firmly in Taylor’s crosshairs all season long, as the standout point guard has been called for an excessive number of technical fouls when he has been playing in games officiated by Taylor. VanVleet took aim at Taylor in an expletive-laden rant after a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, calling out Taylor by name ad getting some big-name supporters.
Not since Chris Paul and the equally questionable Scott Foster has one player and an official been so intertwined due to an alleged bias against him. VanVleet’s best way to get back at Taylor was to light things up on the court, and he certainly did not disappoint against an up-and-coming squad in Oklahoma City.
VanVleet finished the night with 19 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four steals while going 8-16 from the field and 3-7 from 3-point range. Toronto pulled out a 128-111 win to move to 34-36 on the season, putting them one-half game behind the eighth-place Hawks.
everyone in the arena please know it's ben taylor calling tonight's game https://t.co/JLnw1hpk5N
— William Lou (@william_lou) March 17, 2023
Fred VanVleet led the Toronto Raptors to a win vs. Ben Taylor, Thunder
VanVleet was not the only Raptor who managed to overcome Taylor and the Thunder. Pascal Siakam finished with a double-double after a very sluggish start, Gary Trent Jr. played another solid game after some poor results in Los Angeles, and Christian Koloko put in a good shift in place of Precious Achiuwa.
For all of the hullabaloo about VanVleet and Taylor butting heads, it was Toronto who managed to get the benefit of some 50-50 calls earlier in the contest. Much like the Raptors, Oklahoma City is a team that occasionally can shoot themselves in the foot and empower opponents like VanVleet with some nasty fouling.
Between this game and VanVleet coming off a performance in which he scored 36 points and helped the Raptors set a franchise record by piling up 49 points in a quarter against the Denver Nuggets, it looks like the veteran point guard might be peaking at the right time. Not even questionable officiating can slow him down.
Now, it's Pascal Siakam who is displeased with the craft of Ben Taylor.
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) March 17, 2023
The Raptors know that one little slip-up, be it aided by officials or due to their own poor performance, could be enough to torpedo their hopes of making a postseason appearance. In tandem with Siakam and Scottie Barnes, VanVleet made sure that neither efficiency nor the vengeful whistle of Taylor could deny them in this one.