The Toronto Raptors nearly erased a 24-point deficit against the Dallas Mavericks, but fell short 125-118.
Raptors backcourt delivers
The Raptors have their own supersized point guard in Scottie Barnes who the team unleashed a few weeks ago when Toronto opted to move Davion Mitchell to the bench. Since then Barnes has handled the lead playmaking duties and has excelled. He has looked comfortably running the show, often grabbing defensive rebounds and pushing the pace. He’s been finding his teammates for easy looks and has been stuffing the stat sheet. The 23-year-old has a double-double in 6 of his last 7 games. Barnes finished with 19 points, a career-high 14 assists and 8 rebounds. Barnes found Ochai Agbaji inside with a no-look pass to get the Raptors to within eight in the fourth. The Raptors then got within five after Gradey Dick hit a couple of three-pointers. Dick had a stellar performance for Toronto finishing with a team-high 27 points.
Welcome back Kelly Olynyk
Kelly Olynyk returned from injury and made his season debut for the Raptors. He instantly provided Toronto with some much needed size and shooting as he hit three three-pointers to finish with 13 points. Olynyk will be a big boost for the Raptors frontcourt depth as he and Jakob Poeltl combined for 33 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals on a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. He will also help the Raptors second unit offense, which ranked 24th entering this game. Olynyk’s return bumped Chris Boucher out of the rotation for the first time this season. The Raptors elected to use Jonathan Mogbo as their backup forward from off the bench. They also did not play Jamal Shead. With the Raptors getting back to full strength, it’s unclear what Boucher’s long-term plans will be with the team. It seems likely the Raptors will try and move him at the deadline.
Luka magic
Luka Doncic is just unstoppable. He controlled the tempo of the game and was in full control. He hit a buzzer-beating three from just across half-court to end the first half. The Raptors started Barnes on him and tried whatever they could to try and slow down him and Kyrie Irving, but they simply had no answers. Doncic finished with 30 points, 11 assists and 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, Irving had 29 points and Klay Thompson chipped in with 20. The Mavericks deadly trio combined for 79 points in the win.
Next on tap
The Raptors continue their homestand as they welcome in O.G. Anunoby and the New York Knicks on Dec. 9.
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