On the second night of a back-to-back, the Raptors raced out of the gates against the Mavericks, before running out of gas, going down 103-95 at Scotiabank Arena.
All five starters scored in double figures led by 23 points from OG Anunoby and 20 from Fred VanVleet, while rookie Scottie Barnes chipped in 17 points and eight rebounds.
Luka Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr. came alive in the second half, combining for 38 of the Mavericks 58 points to pick up their first win of the season.
– After his blistering start to the game, Anunoby has yet to score in the second half.
– Three of the Raptors’ key guys are all battling foul trouble to start the fourth quarter. Anunoby (5), VanVleet (4), Barnes (4)
– Hardaway Jr. has come to life in the second half. He knocks down his sixth triple of the night to extend the lead to 82-74, matching their largest lead of the night.
A much-improved second quarter from the Mavericks cuts the deficit to six points at the half. Doncic leads the way with 11 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Porzingis has 10 points and five boards.
OG Anunoby has a game-high 20 points on 4-of-5 from deep for the Raptors. Gary Trent Jr. has 10 points and four rebounds.
– Svi Mykhailiuk heads to the bench with blood dripping from his face after a nasty head collision with Kristaps Porzingis. Common foul called on KP.
– Gary Trent Jr. is getting it done on both ends for the Raptors. A heads-up play as he throws it off Dorian Finney-Smith to create another possession off the offensive rebound.
– Dallas has picked up the intensity in the second quarter, led by Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic. Porzingis has a team-high 10 points and five rebounds.
– Anunoby is playing with unreal confidence. Hammers home the dunk with two hands and then follows it up with a triple on the next possession. He’s got a game-high 17 points on eight shots.
– How about the hustle from Chris Boucher. He airballs a three on one end and immediately makes up for it, racing back to block Sterling Brown’s 3-point attempt.
End of first quarter: Raptors 25, Mavericks 18
The 3-point shooting has been the difference offensively with the Raptors connecting on 5-of-11 while Dallas has gone 0-of-8.
Credit to the Raptors defence that has been active and engaged led by Anunoby and Barnes.
– Doncic ends the rut with an and-1 play to cut the lead back to 11.
– The turnovers are really hurting the Mavericks, allowing the Raptors to get out in transition. Scottie Barnes is doing a great job staying in front of Luka Doncic forcing him into tight spaces and tough passes.
– Scottie Barnes explodes to the rim for the easy lay-in to extend the lead to 11-2 . Timeout Dallas.
Toronto’s energy on both ends to start the game has been huge. They’re definitely enjoying playing in front of their home fans.
– Anunoby blocks Porzingis’ jumpshot and the Mavs big man reacts with a hard foul.
– The Raptors are locked in defensively to start this game, crowding the paint and forcing the Mavs into some tough shots. Dallas starts the game 1-for-6. Raptors lead 9-2.
– OG Anunoby gets things underway with an emphatic jam and follows it up with a steal on the next possession.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
