The Toronto Raptors’ win streak comes to an end at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks who leave Canada with a 136-125 victory. Defense wasn’t a premium for any team but the Raptors found themselves unable to string together enough consecutive stops to come away with the victory. Despite the loss, the team never threw the towel in and competed throughout.
Toronto got off to an amazing start but was thwarted early by a Dallas run. The Mavericks’ size proved to be a problem as Daniel Gafford made an immediate impact with 13 points and seven rebounds. P.J. Washington had one of his better games as a Maverick, finishing with 23 points while connecting on five three-pointers.
The Raptors did their best to respond and it was the play of their big three that kept them in the game. Immanuel Quickley led Toronto in scoring with 28 points, nine assists and five rebounds. RJ Barrett joined him with 26 points, six assists and five rebounds. Toronto’s All-Star, Scottie Barnes, struggled from the field going 9-22 but contributed 19 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, filling the stat sheet.
A big disparity came from the productivity of each team’s bench. The Raptors were coming off a great team bench performance against the Indiana Pacers. However, each player of the second unit finished with a negative plus/minus in the double digits. Kelly Olynyk led the bench in scoring with 13 but was no match for Dallas. Tim Hardaway Jr. had a bounce-back game with 16 points, connecting on four three-pointers.
Toronto’s inability to convert free throws proved to be a hindrance yet again as they went 20-30. Dallas also won the rebound battle 50-44. Other than those two areas, the game was played evenly by both teams. However, on his birthday, Luka Doncic continued his Luka Magic.
The MVP candidate finished with a triple-double consisting of 30 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds. His co-star, Kyrie Irving, tallied 29 points along the way.
Toronto falls to 22-37 on the season and will look to start a new winning streak on Friday, March 1st, against the Golden State Warriors at 7:30 PM ET.
