Following their controversial heartbreak loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Toronto Raptors went up against the Los Angeles Clippers the very next day in a hard-fought match, which they lost to a score of 126-120. Toronto was without Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam but they didn’t let that hinder them as the entire team stepped up tremendously.
The basketball world has been buzzing due to the events of the prior game against the Lakers and the questions surrounding the officiating. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic had an all-time rant that clearly fueled this team based on their performance tonight.
Despite playing a tumultuous game the night before where the fourth quarter took 40 minutes of real time to complete, the Raptors played a very good basketball game. Their offense was clicking from the very beginning and would finish the game shooting 54 percent from the field.
Immanuel Quickley finished with 25 points, four rebounds and six assists. Whenever the Raptors needed a basket, IQ was huge with either a big three-pointer or an and-one opportunity in the paint. Dennis Schroder joined him in the backcourt, due to the back injury to Pascal Siakam, and had himself quite the game. Schroder contributed 22 points and four assists.
RJ Barrett continued his great play with 24 points, five rebounds and four assists. He has adapted to Darko’s style of play and has flourished greatly, even making a pair of huge baskets in the fourth quarter to lead the Raptors in their final push.
On the other side, there were two pillars that stood in Toronto’s way. The Clippers’ star players were absolutely amazing in this game and spearheaded their team to victory. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard both finished with 29 points each, including dagger baskets by both players to put the game away within the final minute. Los Angeles shot 15-34 from three which was the key factor that gave the advantage to the Clippers.
This could’ve easily been a game in which the Raptors threw the towel but they fought to the very last second. Despite the loss, this team continues to make strides in the right direction. Toronto’s record now reaches 15-23 on the season and will get ready to face a red-hot Utah Jazz team on Friday at 9:30 PM ET.
