Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, right, shoots over Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox during the first quarter of Friday night in Sacramento, Calif.
Raptors allowed 77 first-half points and still made a game of it in road loss to Kings
Raptors carved a 23-point deficit down to three in the dying seconds and were an Immanuel Quickley three-pointer away from tying Kings near the buzzer.
Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, right, shoots over Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox during the first quarter of Friday night in Sacramento, Calif.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It wasn’t always going to be cute puppy dogs and rainbows for the Raptors.
For sure, back-to-back wins after a roster-jarring trade were nice and a change of fortune that infused the franchise and its fan base with a sense of optimism after weeks when nothing was going right at all.
This is pro sports we’re talking about and nothing is forever even for the best of teams, which the Raptors most assuredly are not at the moment. The fall was coming. But even it was entertaining. And telling.
After a disastrous, nearly historically bad first half, the Raptors scrambled from a 23-point hole before falling 135-130 to the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center on Friday night.
Kings guard Chris Duarte, left, guards against Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley during the first quarter on Friday night in Sacramento, Calif.
Randall Benton / AP Photo
The Raptors gave up 77 first-half points, including 14 made three-pointers by the hot-shooting Kings, yet somehow made a game of it.
They carved the deficit down to three in the dying seconds and were an Immanuel Quickley three-pointer away from tying the game with a second and a half on the clock.
“First half, we allowed them transition, we allowed them second-chance points … the adjustment in the second half was our physicality and grit not to give up,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “When you’re down 20 you have a decision to make. Are you going to quit or you gonna continue fighting?”
They fought and that is to their credit, especially being a new group and especially after the wretched first half.
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The 77 points surrendered ties this team for the sixth-most points a Raptors team has given up in any half of any game. The most ever was 84 to Golden State in March 2011 and Friday’s half matched the 77 they gave up a week ago in a loss to Detroit.
“When you play against a team like that it’s never going to be one effort. You’ve got to do multiple things,” Rajakovic said of the Kings. “You’ve got to be able to guard them one on one but also chase them off the line and then scramble and cover for each other on the other side.
“In the second half, I thought we did much better job and that helped us get back in the game.”
Kings guard Kevin Huerter, right, looks to shoot over Raptors forward Scottie Barnes during the first quarter Friday night in Sacramento, Calif.
Randall Benton / AP photo
But just as it wasn’t particularly bright to get too excited about wins over Cleveland and Memphis, it’s unwise to get too bent out of shape over losing to the Kings.
The truth is the Raptors, then and now, are seeking longer-term fits and sustained success, winning more than losing is always the imperative but the coaching staff and front office aren’t going to live and die on a daily basis.
The two wins were nice and proved nothing definitive. The loss was humbling and proved nothing definitive. And the fallout out from last week’s trade lingers.
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The reality of the Raptors now is there are nights when they will benefit greatly from last week’s trade, nights when Quickley’s shooting bails them out and nights when RJ Barrett gets to the rim and knocks down shots and make big plays
It is why they consummated the deal with the New York Knicks, why they were willing to give up one of the premier perimeter defenders in OG Anunoby as the key piece of the departing triumvirate.
But there was going to be a price to pay some nights — that was obvious from the moment the trade happened — and Friday was an example.
Kings all-star Domantas Sabonis, who turned into a human turnover machine in the face of Anunoby’s defence — averaging seven per game — blistered the Raptors for 24 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists before fouling out.
Sabonis is a tough cover for any individual defender and for teams trying to scheme for him.
“I mean, you got to figure out a way to not to help too much, but also be able to guard him,” Raptors' Chris Boucher said of Sabonis. “If you sag on him he's able to make plays and his vision is really good. And then he's really good in the post, too.
“So I think it's a mixture of both, but I think we did a really good job to kind of put him in a position to get him in foul trouble. I think we want to do that more. But, like I said, he's a great player. So great players do what they want.”
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The Raptors had eight players score in double figures as Quickley and Scottie Barnes each had 20 and Pascal Siakam had 18 points and nine assists.
Doug Smith is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @smithraps.
Doug Smith is
a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @smithraps.
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