Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Raptors End Pivotal Homestand With Split Following Loss to Hawks
It was a week and a half ago that the Toronto Raptors opened this six-game homestand aware of the magnitude of the situation. They'd lost 12 of their last 17 games and sat five games below .500. This was an opportunity to right the ship, maybe the last one before the Feb. 9 trade deadline.
Two straight losses to open the stretch put the Raptors behind the eight ball but a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers and a sweep of the lowly Charlotte Hornets breathed life into the season. But Saturday didn't go according to plan. A 114-103 upset victory by the Atlanta Hawks meant the Raptors finished its pivotal homestand just 3-3, unable to make up any ground in a tough Eastern Conference.
"We’ve got a long way to go with some consistency," said Raptors coach Nick Nurse. "I would have liked to have said we’re making some progress with just being ready to go energy-wise and connectivity-wise and all that stuff and then tonight it didn't look like we had very good energy to start the game."
With the starters struggling early, it was Toronto's bench that rose to the occasion early in the fourth. O.G. Anunoby found Precious Achiuwa for a ferocious slam that seemed to energize the Raptors' second unit. Moments later Chris Boucher converted an and-1 layup and cut Atlanta's lead to just nine with a three-pointer that prompted an immediate Hawks timeout.
The Raptors stuck with the group late in the quarter, opting to go without Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet for the final minutes. It was a decision that paid off for Toronto as Scottie Barnes used his size mismatch to bully Trae Young in the paint for a crucial bucket. He followed it up on the very next possession with another paint touch for two courtesy of a great find from Anunoby.
Pascal Siakam found Boucher with a stellar kick-out pass to beat a collapsing Hawks' defense for three, allowing Toronto to pull within seven. That was as close as they'd come, though. Siakam fouled out on a ticky-tack foul against Young prompting VanVleet's return and Toronto couldn't break through. A pair of missed opportunities by Achiuwa and Boucher allowed Dejounte Murray to ice the game and moved Toronto to 19-24 on the season.
"We always fight our way back," said Barnes. "We had a good three games where we played really solid. I don’t know. We’re getting there, I guess."
Saturday evening started ugly for the Raptors. Maybe not quite as ugly as that Milwaukee Bucks game that opened this stretch but pretty close. Save for a dunk from Barnes, Toronto went 1-for-13 from the field out of the gate including a pair of wide-open, albeit deep, three-point attempts that missed from Fred VanVleet.
Malachi Flynn helped turn things around a little bit. He came off the bench and banged in an early three-pointer, nailed a transition layup on the very next possession off a great pass from Barnes, and found Juancho Hernangomez for a corner three-pointer as the Raptors cut Atlanta's lead to seven in the first quarter.
VanVleet's early struggles spilled over to the defensive end where Toronto had no answers for Trae Young and Murray. Young beat VanVleet late in the second quarter on a blow-by before hitting a floater to put Atlanta up 13. Seconds later he took a take foul on Young, as the Hawks reached 69 points in the first half.
"We didn't get off to a very good defensive start in general, but we didn’t score at all," Nurse said. "We just put ourselves in a constant defensive transition battle because... the ball wasn’t going through the basket."
Barnes kept Toronto in it throughout. He continued to look aggressive in his new role, attacking the basket and cleaning up the garbage around the rim. He scored 18 of his team-high 27 points in the paint and grabbed 12 rebounds.
With 39 games to go, it's still too early to really be looking at the standings. A victory Saturday would have moved them into a tie with the Hawks for the ninth seed in the East. Instead, the homestand ends with Toronto tied with Chicago for the 10th and final spot in the play-in tournament.
Up Next: New York Knicks
With the homestand wrapped up, Toronto will hit the road to take on the New York Knicks on Monday at 3:00 p.m. ET.
