It was close but Toronto holds it, its tenth victory of the season! In these games that are played on details, as was the case tonight against Dallas, the Raptors made the difference with their aggressiveness and their conquering spirit, boosted by their fans.
The Mavericks had however started with a bang, carried by a Spencer Dinwiddie above the lot with his three 3-point baskets and 3 assists which quickly allowed Dallas to turn to +15 (7-22). The response from the locals was immediate, with Chris Boucher then Fred VanVleet in charge to pass a 15-5 and end the first act at -5 (24-29).
After a 6-0 from the Trent Jr-Young-Boucher trio, Toronto took the lead and then relied on the raw talent of Fred VanVleet to extend their lead, up to +7 to finally finish at +2 following a a 3-pointer from Luka Doncic just before the break (54-52).
The locals kept the momentum back from the locker room with this time an 8-0 concluded by a tap from Chris Boucher which forced Jason Kidd to quickly stop the game (62-54). A new festival of Fred VanVleet then allowed his team to maintain an 8-point lead with 12 minutes remaining (81-73).
Christian Wood revived the suspense by coming out of the woods at the best time for Dallas with two 3-point baskets. The Texans even took the lead after two shots from Luka Doncic came to complete an 11-2 (83-84).
The fight was intense until the end, Dallas almost succeeded in the heist, relying in particular on Dorian Finney-Smith to support Luka Doncic. But Toronto held firm, with an OG Anunoby in (almost) all the good shots, and a decisive Chris Boucher in the mega-money-time on a basket at the buzzer with the fault (101-98).
Thaddeus Young did not shake free throws in the final, quite the opposite of Dorian Finney-Smith, whose ultimate loss of the ball was fatal to the Mavs, defeated 105-100.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The hardness of the Raptors. Nothing particularly new, but in a game that is played for nothing, the aggressiveness, the athletic dimension and the toughness displayed by Toronto undoubtedly had their part in the success of Nick Nurse. Symbols of this “starved” state of mind, in addition to physically dominating, OG Anunoby and Chris Boucher were the two “X factors” of the meeting, alongside a Fred VanVleet also not badly in the genre. , never the last to go and rub shoulders with the big guys in the racket.
– The Mavs “straggler” game. It’s hard to talk about a lagging match when we had a 15-point lead… Dallas really played like a team lacking in energy. To give everything to try to kill the match, to finally cling behind the score throughout the second half, in the hope of making a success of a blow. It didn’t take long for it to happen. The Mavs could almost blame themselves.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Fred VanVleet. He has been the elusive player he can be when playing at 100%. The leader of the Raptors had his hot shots, especially at the start of the game to put his team back on track. A landmark throughout the match for his teammates.
✅ OG Anunoby. The winger multiplied the shows of force to fight his way to the circle and also distinguished himself with an important 3-pointer in the final. 12 points in the last act and a presence that weighed.
✅ chris butcher. Symbol of the hardness of the Raptors, the interior was invaluable in getting points on the offensive rebound and contributing through its activity on the sides of the floor. Author of his best performance of the season, he confirmed his Olympic form in recent outings with a “clutch” basket at the possession buzzer at the very end of the match.
⛔️Tim Hardaway Jr. Because he is with Christian Wood, the Lieutenant who weighed the least around Luka Doncic. The shooter has been in trouble for a few games and this outing in Toronto was in the same vein, at 4 points and a terrible -16 when he was on the field.
THE FOLLOWING
Toronto (10-9): they will receive the Cavaliers this Monday (01:30)
Dallas (9-9): the Mavericks have an appointment in Milwaukee tonight (2:00 a.m.)
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