Lu Dort's third-straight 20-point game not enough in Thunder's loss to Raptors
Oklahoma City came out extremely hot against Toronto on Sunday evening, with Lu Dort once again carrying the offensive load.
In the first quarter alone, Dort scored 21 points on 7-for-7 from the field and 5-for-5 from beyond the arc. He became just the seventh player in Thunder history to score at least 20 points in a single quarter.
With a seven-point lead at halftime, it looked like the Thunder were on track to snap their nine-game losing streak. However, the Raptors threw the first punch after the break and outscored Oklahoma City 29-21 in the third quarter to take the lead.
In the final quarter, the Raptors pulled away to finish the night with a 112-106 lead to win their third-straight game while the Thunder lost their tenth-straight.
"It's hard to keep the team positive right afterwards but the thing that's encouraging is they come out and compete every night," said Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault. "We had good spirit tonight. They keep fighting. They get themselves up for every game."
Dort finished the night with 29 points and four rebounds in what was his third-straight game with 20 or more points. This brings him to an average of 28.5 points per game in his last four since returning to the lineup from concussion protocol.
Darius Bazley had another solid outing with 16 points and eight rebounds. Oklahoma City's bench produced 34 points headlined by 12 points from Kenrich Williams and 11 points from Isaiah Roby. First-year player Aleksej Pokusevski finished the night with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists and six blocks.
For the Raptors, Chris Boucher dominated all night, finishing with 31 points and 12 rebounds while Gary Trent Jr. scored 23 points.
“It was a tough game and a tough loss," said Pokusevski. "I’m frustrated by the loss. But we have a game tomorrow."
Both the Thunder and Raptors were efficient on Sunday from deep, shooting .424 and .447 respectively from 3-point range. Toronto changed the game on the offensive glass, pulling down 16 offensive rebounds. Additionally, the Raptors took care of the ball better than the Thunder, with just 13 turnovers to Oklahoma City's 21.
Toronto (24-34) is now in sole possession of the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, which would get them into the play-in game if the season were to end today. On the flip side, Oklahoma City (20-37) once again has the fifth-best lottery odds for the upcoming NBA Draft.
The Thunder will now travel to Washington to play the Wizards tomorrow on the second night of a back-to-back.
