Toronto was undersized, understaffed, and underwhelming in a 123-89 rout by Sacrament
On a night when the Queens of Canadian basketball were celebrated, it was the Kings that reigned supreme at Scotiabank Arena
It was Women Empowerment Night as the Toronto Raptors extended the longest losing streak in the NBA to eight games after falling to the visiting Sacramento Kings, 123-89. The Kings were led by All-NBA forward, Domantas Sabonis, who finished with 13 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists for his 24th triple-double of the season.
Toronto was “led” by….no one in particular. Gary Trent Jr. was the leading scorer with 18 points, although half of his scoring came in the 4th quarter (a.k.a. garbage time). Jahmi’us Ramsey scored 11 points off the bench, in his first game against the team that drafted him in 2020.
As has been the case for most of March, and for the rest of the season, the Toronto Raptors were sorely understaffed. Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and Chris Boucher. No, that wasn’t the starting lineup, that’s the list of injured players (along with DJ Carton)!
Mike Brown spoke about the importance of pace with his team but it was Toronto that started the game with speed and urgency. The Raptors consistently pushed the ball, rarely allowing Sacramento’s half-court defense to set. At least early on, the Raptors were able to keep pace with the Kings’ high-octane offense, grabbing an early 17-16 lead.
Unfortunately for Raptors fans, that was the high point for Toronto in this game.
The problem with facing Sacramento is that, regardless of the opponents’ run, they continue generating easy scoring opportunities. The Kings spent most of the first quarter in first gear while the Raptors were doing everything in their power to keep up. Toronto’s bench unit injected some energy and kept the team within striking distance.
On one possession, Jontay Porter collected two offensive rebounds and Javon Freeman-Liberty collected another. The possession ended with a JFL floater. Later on, Ramsey and Jordan Nwora generated steals with active hands.
Both teams shot well from the field in the first quarter, each hitting 11 of their 22 field goal attempts. Sabonis was, unsurprisingly, the engine that fuelled Sacramento’s success. By the end of the opening frame, Domas was already halfway to a triple-double with 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.
In the second quarter, the Raptors started to unravel. The team missed 16 of its 23 field goal attempts and 9 of its 10 three-point shots. Sacramento was not only winning in the halfcourt, but also winning the hustle stats. They outscored Toronto 20-9 in transition points and 18-5 on second-chance points (despite being even in offensive rebounds and steals).
For all the attention surrounding Sabonis, it was Sacramento’s guards that pushed the lead to 14, midway through the second quarter. De’Aaron Fox (10 points) and Malik Monk (15 points) took full advantage of Toronto’s injury-depleted backcourt.
For Women Empowerment Night, the Raptors had several tributes throughout the game. The ladies of MLSE were celebrated (shoutout to Justine Jones and Jennifer Quinn of Raps PR). Artist, Samantha Woj, known for her amazing art with sports objects was in the building to create a Raptor-inspired piece. The loudest ovation was reserved for the Senior Women’s National team in attendance.
The Raptors could have used those ladies as the already-ravaged lineup was dealt another blow as Jontay Porter exited the game in the second quarter, due to illness.
If there was one sequence that summarized this game, it was the end of the first half. With 2 minutes remaining in the second quarter and the Raptors “only” down 57-45, Sacramento turned up the defensive intensity, taking complete control of an overmatched Toronto squad and scoring on 5 consecutive possessions.
- Keegan Murray missed three landed perfectly into the hands of a crashing Chris Duarte, leading to an uncontested putback layup
- Gradey Dick missed his fourth three-point attempt of the half. The long rebound ignited Sacramento’s transition offense, ending with a Sabonis breakaway dunk.
- Miscommunication between Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown led to another turnover and another breakaway opportunity, this time it was Fox that finished with a layup.
- Bruce Brown’s driving layup attempt was fouled blocked by Sabonis, leading to yet another fastbreak opportunity for the Kings. Keegan Murray canned Sacramento’s 8th three-pointer of the half.
Sacramento took a resounding 68-43 lead into halftime.
Sabonis put a cap on his dominant performance (Doma-nation?) by collecting his 24th triple-double of the season. Without knowing how his other 23 triple-doubles were achieved, it’s safe to assume this was the easiest as it’s the first time this season he did so in under 30 minutes of play (28 to be exact).
Mike Brown benched his starters in the 4th quarter as the lead grew to 38 points before the end of the 3rd. Sacramento dominated in every facet of the game. They outscored Toronto 68-38 in the paint, 33-17 off turnovers, and 58-35 by the reserves. The Raptors’ lack of size was exploited as the Kings won the rebounding battle 35-20.
In addition to the presence of the Women’s National Team, the Men’s National Team was also well-represented with Jordi Fernandez sharing some inspiring words about the program. With the Raptors playing out the string, it’s no surprise that Canadian basketball fans are turning their attention towards the Summer Olympics. The anticipation will only grow stronger on Friday as the Raptors welcome Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, and the Oklahoma City Thunder
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