In a preview of what will likely be a first-round matchup in the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Toronto Raptors fought hard but ran out of steam late against the Atlanta Hawks.
Toronto had previously won eight of the last 11 against Atlanta and their last nine fourth quarters but the Hawks distanced themselves in the final frame.
Here are my takeaways from a competitive, but ultimately ugly offensive performance that resulted in a road loss.
No O without Lowry
Toronto has struggled offensively without Kyle Lowry.
After another poor shooting night, the Raptors have now failed to hit 100 points in five of their last six games. Toronto’s scoring was balanced as they had six players in double figures. The issue was that besides Norman Powell’s 14 points, the Raptors got nothing from their bench. Delon Wright, P.J. Tucker and Patrick Patterson combined for just four points. Of the trio, Patterson was the only one to score from the field and that basket came with 27.2 seconds left.
No deep threats
Toronto shot just 4-of-25 from three. DeMar DeRozan was especially bad, going 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. The spacing, or lack thereof, without Lowry is the biggest reason the Raptors offence has ground to a halt.
Inconsistent and unlucky Ibaka
Serge Ibaka really struggled at times, as Paul Millsap had his way with him offensively. Ibaka only got his hands on three rebounds in 30 minutes and finished the game a team-worst minus-10 before fouling out.
A couple of bad calls went against Ibaka, which contributed to Millsap’s strong night and Ibaka’s inconsistent play. The Raptors’ deadline acquisition was called for a questionable offensive foul that wiped out a Tucker three. He later was called for a blocking foul after making what was clearly a clean block.
The referees weren’t the reason Toronto lost, but they were part of the reason Ibaka wasn’t a factor late.
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DeMar bounced back
On the plus side, DeMar DeRozan re-found his shooting stroke, scoring 28 points, grabbing eight rebounds and six assists. DeRozan became the first Raptors player to reach 11,000 points and the third player from the 2009 draft to reach the mark.
Active hands
Defence is the only thing that kept the Raptors in the game. DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph were especially disruptive in passing lanes, collecting four steals apiece, while Powell chipped in with another three in just 18 minutes off the bench. Toronto finished with a season-high 17 steals.
Atlanta on the move
Atlanta is now just two games back of Toronto for fourth in the East and hold the tiebreaker. Both teams have 17 games remaining. If the two finish tied, the Hawks will have home-court advantage.
Philips Arena is not the most difficult place to play in the NBA, but the Air Canada Centre crowd was certainly a factor in a pair of Game 7 wins last year. Instead of scoreboard watching the teams in front of them, Toronto now has to pay equal attention to the team behind them.