Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Boucher Continues to Provide a Spark as Raptors Knock off Luka Doncic & the Mavericks
Chris Boucher might not be playing the best basketball of his career but he's getting pretty darn close.
It's taken a while for the Toronto Raptors forward to reach this point. The journey by now is well documented for the undrafted Canadian who was once the superstar of the G League not too long ago.
"Did you see him in the G League?" Fred VanVleet asked the gathered media following Saturday's 105-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. "He was like box office."
OK, so he hasn't been that good, but his impact these days is getting pretty close against much tougher competition. On Saturday, he single-handedly out-offensive rebounded the Mavericks, creating extra opportunities for Toronto who was once again shorthanded without Pascal Siakam and the talent on paper to keep up with the Mavericks. Even as the Raptors ran out of gas late, Boucher never let up, nailing a fallaway floater before in the final thirty seconds to stick Toronto to a three-point lead from which the Raptors never looked back.
"He's been an incredible sparkplug for us and if he could play Dallas a couple of times a week he could be an All-Star," VanVleet said of Boucher who finished the night with 22 points on 10-for-19 shooting with 13 rebounds. "You gotta give him credit and just being able to show up every night and give us a spark off the bench."
Boucher lay on the ground for a moment following his crucial bucket, catching his breath before popping up and raising his arms to pump up the crowd.
"It's amazing, to be honest, like the crowd, and playing in Toronto is such a special thing when you can get them involved like a sixth player, we say that all the time, I just wanted to show that we're happy they're there," Boucher said.
Boucher's heroics wouldn't have been possible without some help from O.G. Anunoby who has continued to thrive in a bigger role at both ends of the court. Luka Doncic wasn't held under wraps by any means, but 24 points on a season-low 15 shot attempts is a big success for Toronto thanks largely to some hyper-aggressive double-teaming and stellar defense from Anunoby.
"He's an amazing player," Doncic said of Anunoby. "I would say on both ends. I think He is the steals leader in the NBA, but offensively he got so much better. I'm impressed with his game he's an amazing player."
At one point in the fourth quarter, Anunoby blocked Doncic who accidentally undercut the Raptors forward leading to an awkward fall. Doncic, though, paused for a moment to help Anunoby up before running back on defense.
"I think he is probably one of the nicest dudes in the league," Doncic added. "He never talks trash, he never does anything, But I tripped him not on purpose, so that's why I helped him up."
Anunoby scored 12 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, nailing a tough hook shot over Dorian Finney-Smith before icing the game with a pair of free throws in the final seconds.
"I liked his aggressiveness," VanVleet said of Anunoby. "He’s just growing as a player and as an offensive threat for us."
Gary Trent Jr. Steps Up to Defensive Challenge
It took a few days for Gary Trent Jr. to get healthy but he finally turned in a solid defensive performance after being called out earlier in the week by Raptors coach Nick Nurse. The 23-year-old was once again the aggressor the Raptors have been begging him to be this season.
He slid into Doncic's passing lane in the first quarter to pick off a skip pass from the Mavericks' star. In the second quarter, he had quite possibly his best stretch of the season, nailing a turnaround jumper from the free-throw line, poking the ball loose to send Thad Young streaking for a transition bucket, all before drawing an offensive foul from Spencer Dinwiddie. He later used his quick hands to break up a pass to Josh Green leading to a pair of free-throws for the Raptors guard.
"I thought he did attack the ball and he made some plays defensively," Nurse said of Trent who was benched for much of the second half following another disappointing 3-for-12 shooting performance. "I think even though he didn't shoot it very well tonight, he was better defensively, and this should help him get back in the swing of things a little bit."
While Saturday's game certainly didn't finish the way Trent had hoped, his defensive effort showed exactly what he can be when he's engaged. The offense will come and go for such a streaky player but the defense needs to be there every night.
Up Next: Cleveland Cavaliers
The Raptors will be back on a regular schedule with a day off Sunday before taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena.
