Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors‘ 118-108 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
One — The Raptors have clinched a playoff spot for the eighth time in nine seasons. The red-hot Hawks were standing in their way, winners of five straight while averaging nearly 130 points per game during that stretch, but the Raptors emerged victorious with a convincing performance where they dominated the paint and kept Trae Young under control.
Elsewhere in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers capitulated against the tanking Orlando Magic, which eliminates the chance of them taking back their spot in the top six from Toronto, and as a bonus, the Chicago Bulls were blown out by the Milwaukee Bucks, which moves the Raptors into fifth.
Two — Pascal Siakam dominated this game on every level. Siakam scored 31 points while carving the Hawks’ defence apart. Atlanta opened the game in single coverage and without an actual lockdown wing to check Siakam, so he went straight to work. Siakam had all his tricks going between the spin move, the floater, the turnaround jumper, and his handle allowed him to get to every spot he wanted to on the floor patiently before rising up for the shot.
He was in such a rhythm that at one point, Siakam skied to intercept a pass that was intended for his own teammate, settled into his attack in the middle of the floor, before scoring in the paint for two of his 13 points in the third quarter, which put the Raptors ahead.
Three — Siakam also delivered the pass that clinched the win. Atlanta eventually conceded and switched to sending double or triple teams at Siakam, which finally put an end to his scoring, but he still beat them with the pass. Siakam had a pair of kick-out passes to open shooters that didn’t fall, but he didn’t change his approach, and on a play where he drove hard into the paint, hung in the air as three defenders sandwiched him, Siakam was able to find Fred VanVleet on the perimeter for a three that put the Raptors up five points with a minute left.
Siakam took 23 shots, attempted eight foul shots, and collected six assists in 40 minutes without a single turnover. His game is so much more mature than where it was in his last All-NBA season.
Four — No matter how much he’s struggling, VanVleet is always good for at least one clutch shot. VanVleet had a miserable game on the offensive end, shooting just 4-for-21 from the field including a miserable 1-for-11 from deep before his clutch triple to seal it, and while he was overeager on a few attempts, the bulk of his looks were open. VanVleet’s cold night was the main reason why this game was close, as he missed a pair of wide-open threes where he even had the space to take the extra dribble before launching the shot, and yet he still couldn’t get it to drop.
Still, his defence on Young was free of mistakes, and in addition to the late triple, he also went on a mini-run to start the fourth where he drove and kicked to Chris Boucher for a pair of triples, found Scottie Barnes in the post, and finished a tricky layup where he switched hands mid-air to avoid the block.
Five — VanVleet can take time to heal his bad knee. VanVleet said after the game that he pushed through the injury during a key stretch in the schedule as the Raptors made their playoff push, and now that the job is done, the team can give him more than full week to rest before the start of the first round. Nick Nurse said of VanVleet after the win: “We’re gonna get him off his feet here for a couple of days.”
Six — Containing Young was the main focus of the Raptors game plan. The Raptors had to be very careful with him, knowing that he was always a threat to shoot, and that he is a slippery player who can use his quickness and elite handle to get to all the spots to bend the defence, but the Raptors were mostly up to the task. VanVleet was always there to consistently pressure Young on the ball and to dictate which way he could drive, then the Raptors’ bigs were timely with the help to challenge Young at the basket while also being mindful of the lob pass.
It’s a true testament to Young’s talent that a good defensive performance against him looks like 26 points and 15 assists, but considering that the bulk of Atlanta’s offence runs through him, it was a good showing by the Raptors. He needed 23 shots to get his 26 points, and Young only got to the foul line four times, two of which came on a generous call on Malachi Flynn, who only stood his ground as Young ripped through with the ball to create the contact.
Seven — The Raptors won the possession battle yet again. Toronto doubled Atlanta in offensive rebounds 20 to 10 and was plus-20 in paint points as a result. Khem Birch was solid to start, but the Raptors’ energy really picked up when Boucher, Thad Young, and Precious Achiuwa checked in off the bench. The lineup of those three forwards with Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. allowed the Raptors to climb back into the lead against the Hawks’ bench, and it was largely through dominating the glass. Later on, it was Barnes who continued the charge with six of his own and those extra chances were key on a night where the team shot 9-for-35 from deep.
Eight — Boucher stepped up with 18 points off the bench. The Raptors lack a traditional bench scorer, but they do have three energetic bigs in Boucher, Achiuwa, and Young who can all deliver a scoring punch for the second unit. Boucher had it going today, knocking in three triples, two putbacks, and two transition dunks, but any of the three are also capable. The trick is to have at least one of them going, otherwise, it does put a strain on the starters to carry the offence, but overall the Raptors bench has been much steadier since the trade deadline acquisition of Young, who has been a calming and unselfish presence.
Nine — Barnes stepped up when he needed to. He was quiet to start with Siakam dominating, but scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. He started off with a post-up, sealing a guard on his back before finishing through contact. Then he knocked in a corner three from VanVleet on a wild pass to the corner to put the Raptors back up 10 after the Hawks had just nailed a triple to secure momentum, then he muscled Bogdan Bogdanovic out of the way to secure an airball from Achiuwa in the corner for a putback to put Toronto up two, then capped the game with a finger roll over Clint Capela to beat a full-court press, and cashed two free throws at the end. He finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds in his ongoing pursuit of the Rookie of the Year award.
Ten — Raptors fans are truly blessed. Since Masai Ujiri took over in 2013, the Raptors have suffered only one losing season, which came during a global pandemic that forced the team to relocate, as the lone exception between eight playoff runs. During that blip, Ujiri was able to rebuild a former champion into a new group with a new identity, using two core pieces of the title along with a fresh crew of young and athletic prospects who have all shown major growth when given the chance. Trent Jr. was acquired at last year’s deadline, Barnes was considered the bold choice in the draft, and Achiuwa was the score in Kyle Lowry’s graceful exit.
Meanwhile, VanVleet made his first All-Star appearance, Siakam is en route to a second All-NBA nod, and Nurse is as sharp as it gets as a tactician. Ujiri himself said on opening night that this would be a developmental year, and what that looks like is a career year for many franchises, with the Raptors sitting comfortably with 46 wins and with a core that is completely under team control through at least next year. Enjoy this moment, not because it is new, but because Ujiri and his staff have made it routine.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
