Tag: Toronto Raptors

The Raptors sweep the season series with the Kings; winning Sunday in Toronto 108-93

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Bogi assists
Bogdanovic dishes an assist versus Raptors Photo: USA Today Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings record dropped to 0-2 on their four-game trip as they lost game two on Sunday to the Toronto Raptors 108-93. With the win on Sunday, the Raptors completed a season sweep of the the two-game series between the two teams. The Kings swept the series in 2016-17 but DeMarcus Cousins was still on the Sacramento roster when that happened.

The Kings did manage to avoid falling behind 13-0 as they had one week ago in Sacramento. The Kings trailed trailed by just five points – 35 to 30 – after the first 12-minutes of play. Garrett Temple was the leading scorer in the opening quarter with 10-points.

The Kings went with an interesting starting five. Vince Carter, Kosta Koufos, Willie Cauley-Stein, Garrett Temple and George Hill took the floor to start the game for Sacramento. Zach Randolph was held out for rest. De’Aaron Fox was unavailable because of a Right Quadriceps Contusion suffered in the Minnesota game. JaKarr Sampson had to be sent to the G-League as a two-way player to fulfill his commitment to the Bighorns.

The Kings really shined in the second quarter as they outscored the Raptors 33-26. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the scoring with 11-points shooting 4-for-5 overall while hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point land. George Hill posted nine-points going a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc.

Sacramento went to the locker room at halftime with a 63-61 lead. That would be that last positive highlight for the Kings in the game. The Raptors would outscore the Kings 22-14 in the third quarter and 25-16 in final period of the game. Too much experienced talent and the low percentage chances of winning on the road had caught up the Kings on Sunday afternoon in Toronto.

Kings star of the game

Bogdan Bogdanovic gets the star of the game for Sacramento. The Kings oldest rookie came off the bench to score 18-points in just over 28-minutes on the floor. He shot 7-for-10 overall and hit 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point line. He also handed out five dimes while grabbing three rebounds.

Kings co-stars

Willie scores
Willie Cauley-Stein scores against Toronto Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Garrett Temple – the talented swing-man also recorded 18-points hitting 6-of-13 shots from the floor including two 3-point baskets. He added two rebounds and two assists.
  • Veteran George Hill put 16-points in the book by sinking 6-of-11 shots. Hill converted 4-of-7 3-point attempts. He also distributed five assists.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein continues to get back into the swing of things as he recorded 12 points and hauled in six rebounds. He also added four assists.

Raptors star of the game

It really comes as no surprise that DeMar DeRozan was the star of the game for the Raptors. DeRozan put up a game-high 21-points as he shot 6-for-17 from the field. He was much more successful from charity stripe where hit 9-of-12 opportunities. DeRozan also handed out five assists and had two blocked shots.

Raptors co-stars

  • Guard Kyle Lowry had a better statistical on Sunday than he did last week against the Kings. He put up 14-points hitting 5-of-11 shots from the floor and 4-of-8 from 3-point land. Lowry added seven assists and five rebounds.
  • OG Anunoby scored 13-points, Norman Powell added 13 off the bench, Fred VanVleet recorded 11 points and Delon Wright came off the bench to add 10-points.

Important team stats

Sacramento

Vince got a start
Carter got the start in Toronto Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Field goal percentage: 46.9-percent (38-for-81)
  • 3-point shooting percentage: 42.3-percent (11-for-26)
  • Free Throws: 6-for-8 (75-percent) not nearly enough attempts
  • 32 rebounds – that’s too low
  • 25 assist and 17 assists ( led to 13 Raptor points)

Toronto

  • Toronto shot 36-for-45 (42.4-percent) from the field
  • They hit 13-of-30 (43.3-percent) from 3-point range
  • The Raptors converted 23-of-28 free throw attempts (this was a major difference in the game)
  • Toronto grabbed 46 rebounds (14 more than the Kings)
  • The Raptors had 20 assists
  • Toronto committed just 12 turnovers that yielded only three points for the Kings

Up next for the Kings

The Kings move on to the “City of Brotherly Love” to take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.

Kings Press Row Podcast for 12-13-17: A split at home and back on the road again

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DSC00656
De’Aaron Fox was not afraid to go up against the veteran DeRozan (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

Host: Charlie O

  • A look back at the home games with Toronto and Phoenix

  • A look ahead at a very tough four-game road trip to Minnesota, Toronto, Philly and Brooklyn

DSC00650
Buddy Hield directs the offense against the Raptors (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kings Press Row Podcast for December 6, 2017: On the road and a return home for SAC

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press row podcast

hosts Charlie O. Mallonee & Jordan “Chapes” Chapin

  • The Kings had a very interesting finish to their time in Northern California with a win in Oakland and a loss at the Golden 1 Center to the Bucks

  • Sac Kings picked up a win in Chicago but it was a very close game that they were very fortunate to come away with the “W” in their column

  • The Kings had to face the “Greek Freak” and company last Saturday night. It was a very strange game that SAC had a chance to win after trailing 14-0 to begin the game

  • SAC came home after the game in Milwaukee on Saturday then flew back out to Cleveland on Tuesday to continue the four-game road trip

  • Now it’s time to face the King James and Boogie before coming home to face the Raptors on Sunday

Warriors win a thriller 117-112 come back from five-point deficit over Toronto late in the fourth quarter

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Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, right, shoots against Toronto Raptors’ Jakob Poeltl, left, as Warriors’ Draymond Green, second from right, blocks Raptors’ Delon Wright (55) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. Warriors won, 117-112. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland – The Golden State Warriors showed the Toronto Raptors why they are champions as they came back from a five-point deficit with less than two minutes to play in the game to win by five 117-112.

The Warriors had their hands full with the Raptors all night long. The Dubs continue to make too many bad passes and the committed eighteen turnovers in the game. Draymond Green committed six turnovers, and that did not help the Warriors cause.

The two teams played a very spirited first quarter. The Raptors led most of the way, but the Warriors were able to have three-point advantage 29-26 at the end of the first quarter. The Warriors increased lead to 59-49 late in the first half, but Toronto kept rebounding and playing defense, and they trailed by eight at the half 61-53  The Warriors’ big four of Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson did most of the scoring. Klay had 18, Steph 10, Draymond 11, and KD had 13. Serge Ibaka paced the Raptors with 11, DeMar DeRozan had 8, Kyle Lowery 7, and C.J.Miles tallied 10 coming off the bench.

In the third quarter, The Warriors seemed to have put its act together as they took a 14-point lead 71-57. The Raptors came right back and went on a 16-4 run to trail by just 2 points 75-73. The Warriors, behind a key 3-pointer by Steph Curry, regained a six-point lead 88-82 late in the period. Toronto would not fold and then trailed by just five 91-86 after three. The Raptors outscored the Warriors 33-30, and the play was fast and furious. Neither team would break, and the Raptors were poised to upset the Warriors at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors started the fourth quarter as  KD and David West made key baskets to give Golden State an 11-point lead.  The Raptors did not fold. They went on a 13-2 run to tie the game at 99. The Raptors defense kept the Warriors from scoring, and they went ahead 112-107 with just 1:52 left to play in the game. The Warriors then showed their fans, the NBA, and the world why they are champs. They scored the last 10 points of the game to win 117-112. Klay Thompson pulled down a key rebound Steph tied the game with a 3-point shot. Kevin Durant also made a key rebound. Steph made another three and finished the scoring with two free throws to ice the win for Golden State.

Game Notes and stats- Klay Thompson tallied 22 points, and he is donating a thousand dollars for each point he scores, and the money will go the victims of the Northern California Wildfires. The amount will go up as Klay will continue to donate his point total the next two games. Klay also extended his consecutive game streak to 59 by making a three-point shot in the first half. Steph led the Warriors with 30 points, and he had 5 assists, 4 rebounds and one blocked shot. KD added 29, and Draymond Green had a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards. David West led the bench with 8. After the game, Steph said this:”we didn’t play our best and they played a great game.”

The Raptors were paced by DeMar DeRozan with 24. Pascal Siakhan 20, Serge Ibaka 15, Kyle Lowrey, 14, C.J.Miles 10, and Jakob Poeltl had a double-double for Toronto with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

The Warriors improve to 3-2 and face the Washington Wizards Friday night at Oracle Arena. The Wizards are led by the dynamic backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal. The Warriors will have to deal with Marcin Gortat, the big center that pushed Zaza Pachulia into Kevin Durant last year. Durant suffered a knee injury and missed about a third of the games last season. Markieff Morris, a power forward who averaged 14 points a game last year will not play as he is out with a sports hernia.

 

 

The Warriors bounce back, take down the Toronto Raptors

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By Jerry Feitelberg

Still smarting after a one-point loss at the hands of the reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas Day, the Golden State Warriors (28-6) returned home to face the second-best team in the East, the Toronto Raptors (22-9). Trying to establish themselves as an elite team, the Raptors trailed by as few as five points in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors’ shot-blocking defense proved too much for Toronto in a 121-111 Golden State win.

The Warriors ran the Raptors off the court in the first quarter. The Warriors scored 42 points and held Toronto to just 17. Klay Thompson led the Dubs with 12, but Steph Curry and Kevin Durant also contributed. Toronto won the second quarter as they closed the gap to just five trailing 56-51. The Raptors outscored the Dubs 21-6 in the first eight minutes of play but Golden State was able to get back on track as they increased the lead to 17 at the end of the first half 72-55. The Warriors shot a blistering 74.4% from the field in the half. Toronto was held to just 37%. Toronto, however, took fifteen more shots than the Dubs to stay close. Demar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, and Terrence Ross, off the bench, scored 49 of Toronto’s  55 points.

The teams played even in the third quarter as Golden State maintained its 17 point lead. The play of the game came when Steph Curry made a behind the back pass to Klay Thompson. Thompson then made a three-point shot from the corner that lit up the crowd. The fourth quarter was an entirely different story. The Raptors played defense and held the Warriors to just 17 points in the quarter. The Dubs led Cleveland by 14, and they blew the lead and lost. The Dubs must have been thinking it was deja vu all over again when the woke up to play great defense and regrouped after Toronto closed to within five 114-109 with 3:01 left in the game. The Dubs held them at bay and won by ten 121-111.

Game Notes- The star of the night was Kevin Durant. Durant scored 22 points but was a monster on defense as he had 17 rebounds and five blocked shots. Draymond Green had a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists to go along with six rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Klay had 21 and Steph led the team with 28. Steph had 7 assists and 7 rebounds. Ian Clark with 9, Andre Iguodala added 11 and Zaza Pachulia knocked down 8. The Warriors had 33 assists in the game to go along with 4 steals and 10 blocks. The one negative was the 20 turnovers that allowed the Raptors to stay close. The Raptors were led by DeMar DeRozan’s 29, Kyle Lowry’s 27 points and 11 assists, DeMarre Carroll’s 13 and Terrence Ross’ 24. The Warriors extended their NBA record to 119 consecutive games without back to back losses.

The Warriors improve to 28-5 while Toronto drops to 22-9. After the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he thought this about the game:”between the turnovers and offensive rebounds, it was a strange first half and a strange game overall.” He said “there was a lot of energy to start the game’ and that “we needed it as we couldn’t sustain the pace.” Rhen asked about the 20 turnovers, Kerr said”twenty was too many. We gotta clean that up.” He thought Steph was great:”he had the ball quite a bit. Had a great game.” However, Kerr was not happy that the game nearly got out of hand and said “we had a lot of bad possessions down the stretch. It could have been worse but as someone once said: “all’s well that ends well.”

The Warriors play the Dallas Mavericks Friday night at Oracle Arena. Former Warriors Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut will be aiming to upset their ex-mates on Friday. Game time will be at 7:30 pm.

Kings-Raptors postgame notes page 2

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

Toronto Raptors v Sacramento Kings
Rudy Gay jams home the final Kings points of the game on Sunday night Photo: Rocky Widner NBAE

NBA Crew Chief Mike Callahan answers questions on the last 2.4-seconds of the Kings vs Raptors game

Dave Joerger said no small lineup and then said yes

In his pregame press conference, Kings head coach Dave Joerger said he was not sure that a “small ball” lineup was going to happen against the Raptors. Joerger indicated he was really upset after the game on Friday and may have spoken to quickly.

Then … we were waiting for the starting lineups to be announced. They are usually brought to the press tables approximately 20 minutes before the start of the game. We were still waiting for the lineups when the National Anthem was performed.

Just before the player introductions, we received the official starters sheet. Coach Joerger decided to go small. Cousins slid into the number five slot while Gay and Matt Barnes took over the forward positions. Joerger went with twin point guards – Ty Lawson and Darren Collison to start the contest.

The small lineup played fast but was not able to overcome the four to five point lead the Raptors had established. At the 6:23 mark, Joerger switched things up and inserted center Kosta Koufos for Lawson.

The Kings responded to the new configuration and tied the score. Then, the “2 bigs” unit started establishing a lead that grew as large as 10 points. At the end of the first period, Sacramento was up 36-28.

The Kings had a tough second quarter without Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins picked up two personal fouls in the first quarter which was obviously part of the Raptors plan to neutralize the Kings star center. With 8:54 to go in the second, Joerger felt like he had to get Cousins back on the floor. At 8:34 on the clock, Cousins was headed back to the bench having picked up his third personal foul.

Willie Cauley-Stein came into the game for Cousins and the second-year center went to school. He had the task of trying to defend Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas. At seven feet and a solid 265 pounds, the very experienced Valanciunas was just too much for Cauley-Stein to handle by himself.The Toronto center scored six points, grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot during Cauley-Stein’s time on the floor.

Kosta Koufos reentered the game and was able to slow down Valanciunas while Rudy Gay and Arron Afflalo went to work scoring points. The Kings were able to cut the Toronto lead to five – 63 to 58 – at the half.

Toronto Raptors v Sacramento Kings
Jonas Valanciunas Photo Rocky Widner NBAE

Kings got small again in the third quarter

Dave Joerger returned to his “small” starting lineup to start the third period. The small Kings kept the game with five points but were unable to cut into the Raptors lead.

At 7:17, the Kings returned to the “2 bigs” lineup when Koufous subbed back into the game. The presence of Cousins and Koufos made Toronto’s Valanciunas much less effective.

Sacramento – led by a quick five points from Matt Barnes – began to score points. First, they tied the score. Then, Cousins converted a layup and the Kings took the lead. Sacramento scored the final four points of the quarter. At the end of three quarters, the Kings held the lead 86-81.

The fourth quarter lacked execution

Both teams shot just 25-percent from the floor in the final period. Toronto scored 18 points and the Kings 16 points in the quarter. Rudy Gay had the hot hand for the Kings shooting 3-for-5 and scoring seven points including the crucial final two points of the game for Sacramento.

Kyle Lowry tried to will the Raptors back into the game single handedly. He scored nine points, hauled in five defensive rebounds and dished out two assists in the final 12-minutes.

Toronto committed seven turnovers that created seven points for the Kings while Sacramento turned the ball over just three times which yielded three points for the Raptors.

Each team had four starters with 30 or more minutes of playing time in the game.

Joerger went deep into the bench

After having played a shorter rotation in several games, the Kings  used 11 players against the Raptors. Only Omri Casspi and Gerorgios Papagiannis did not play. Coach Joerger was very proud of his team and their effort.

A little rest and some practice time

The Kings will get some time to rest and get in some practice as they will not play again until Wednesday night when they will host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder will be playing the second game of a back-to-back set after facing the Lakers on Tuesday night in LA.

 

 

 

Kings win a thriller over the Raptors 102-99

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

Toronto Raptors v Sacramento Kings
Raptors vs Kings Photo: Rocky Widner NBAE

The Sacramento Kings have done the improbable by defeating the mighty Toronto Raptors 102-99 on Sunday at home to complete the season swept for the second consecutive season.

The win broke up a Sacramento four-game losing streak. Ironically, the Kings victory earlier in the month in Toronto also ended a four-game losing skid.

It is too early in the season to label it a “must win” game, but it was a “we need to win soon” game. The Kings have two games remaining on this homestand with Oklahoma City and Houston – two teams that are playing good basketball right now. The last thing the Kings wanted to do was go winless on a five-game homestand.

This game had one of the best endings for Kings fans in some time. If you are a Raptors fan, you do not share that opinion. In fact, you feel your team got “hosed”.

The final 101-seconds were wild

Darren Collison stole the ball from Patrick Patterson of the Raptors. Collison pushed the ball up the floor. He then passed the ball to Barnes at the top of the key. Barnes passed back to Collison who found the trailer Rudy Gay who put the ball away with commanding dunk.

Following a series of missed shots by both teams, Kyle Lowry was fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer by Darren Collison. Lowry hit the first two charity shots but missed the third and Cousins pulled down the rebound.

Following a 20-second timeout, the Kings were unable to make a basket after playing keep away and committed a shot clock violation.

With 2.4-seconds left is when all the fun began.

The final 2.4-seconds felt the final five-minutes … oh they were!

Following the shot clock violation, the Raptors took a 20-second timeout which meant they would inbound the ball in the frontcourt. Toronto had to have a 3-point basket to tie the game and force an overtime session.

DeMarre Carroll was the player who was selected to inbound the ball. DeMarcus Cousins was put on Carroll to defend against the inbound pass. At the whistle, Carroll threw the inbounds pass to Terrence Ross. The ball hit the floor before Ross picked it up. Ross then took a 30-foot shot that was a beautiful “swish” shot for a game-tying 3-pointer. The ball clearly went through the basket before the red light lit up around the backboard.

DeMarcus Cousins immediately indicated to anyone who would listen that he had tipped the inbounds pass. If he did, the clock should have started then and Ross’ shot may have come too late to count.

Because it was under two minutes, the play went to an automatic video review to the NBA Video Replay Center in Secaucus, New Jersey for the final decision. After a complete review, the final decision was Cousins did indeed deflect the ball which means the clock started at the point. Running the clock from that point Ross’ shot came after time had expired, so the basket did not count. Kings win the game 102-99.

Toronto head coach Dwane Casey was incredibly upset with the officials and the decision. However, no one would expect him to be happy to have a potential tie game taken away from his team.

Important numbers for the Kings

  • Rudy Gay was the Kings high-scorer with 23 points and needed just 13 shots to tally those points. It was a nice comeback after having to two rough games.
  • DeMarcus Cousins recorded another double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) despite missing considerable minutes in the first half with foul trouble
  • Darren Collison put up 15 points and added nine assists in a very active game for the point guard
  • Arron Afflalo scored 14 points in 19 minutes coming off the bench
  • The lead changed 11 times in the game
  • This game was tied 13 times
  • The Kings shot 40.7-percent (11-for-27) from 3-point land
  • Sacramento held DeMar DeRozan – the NBA’s leading scorer – to just 12 points
Toronto Raptors v Sacramento Kings
Kyle Lowry and Darren Collison Photo: Rocky Widner NBAE

Key stats for the Raptors 

  • Kyle Lowry led the Raptors scoring effort with 25 points. He went 9-for-10 from the free throw line
  • Center Jonas Valanciunas – who did not play against the Kings in Toronto – put up 23 and hauled in 14 rebounds for the double-double in 37 minutes of playing time
  • DeMarre Carroll hit for 17 points to make 4-0f-5 starters in double figures
  • The Raptors shot 91.7-percent (22-for-24) from the free throw line

Up next

The Kings are off until Wednesday when they will host Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Raptors have the back-end of a back-to-back on the road tomorrow night in Los Angeles versus the Clippers.

 

 

Kings Countdown: “Small ball” arrives for the Raptors on Sunday in Sac

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

1118joeger

Kings head coach Dave Joerger has seen enough

“I’ve seen enough.We’re going to play small. DeMarcus is going to play center. I don’t know who else will play with him. It just gives us more zip, more life, more experience. That’s not any detriment to anyone else or what they’ve done.” That quote is from Dave Joerger’s postgame press conference on Friday night after the Kings lost to the Clippers 121-115.

After watching his team being blown off the court in the first half by the Clippers, Joerger shook up his lineup in the second half by going small with Cousins at the five, Gay at forward and three guards – Lawson, Afflalo and Collison. The result was improved shooting percentage, higher point production and better defense.

Kings had lost four in a row the last time they played Toronto

Sacramento faced the Raptors in Toronto at the end of a five-game/seven-day road trip that had seen the Kings lose four consecutive games. Expectations were very low for the Kings chances after they had been dominated by the Bucks in Milwaukee the night before.

To everyone’s surprise – especially the Raptors – the Kings played a strong game led by Rudy Gay’s 23 points and DeMarcus Cousins double-double (22 points, 14 rebounds) to defeat Toronto 96-91.

The Sacramento defense was as intense as it had been all season in that game in Toronto. The Kings held DeMar DeRozan under 30 points for the first time in the season. He had scored 30-plus points in the five consecutive games to start the season.

Kings can sweep the series for the second consecutive year

Sacramento swept the season series in 2015-16. Now, the Kings have the opportunity to do that again after winning the first game in Toronto.

The Raptors are a Tier-1 team which means they are definitely a playoff team that has chance to make it to the NBA Finals. They made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season where they lost to the eventual NBA Champions – the Cleveland Cavaliers.

FiveThirtyEight.com projects the Raptors as being the number two seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs this season with a 20-percent chance of being the top seed.

The Kings are still a Tier-3 team which means they basically have no chance of making the playoffs and will be a lottery team again. FiveThirtyEight currently projects the Kings have a 12-percent chance of becoming a playoff team.

Toronto beat the Nuggets 113-111 in OT on Friday night on the road in Denver

The Raptors Terrance Ross hit a 3-pointer with 37.6 seconds to go in the game and Emmanuel Mudiay missed from halfcourt as time ran out and Toronto won in overtime 113-111. DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points for the 10th time in 12 games this season for the Raptors. Kyle Lowry posted a double-double by scoring 18 points and dishing out 13 assists for Toronto in the contest.

Toronto Raptors v Denver Nuggets

The Raptors aren’t afraid of the road

Toronto (8-4) is 4-1 on the this season. The Raptors will not be intimidated just because they are coming into a new arena in Sacramento. Evidently, the Raptors don’t understand that they are supposed to have a 60-percent chance of losing because they are the visitors.

The key to winning is to stop DeRozan

DeRozan is currently the leading scorer in the NBA at 33.0 points per game. He is shooting 50.3-percent from field and leads all players with 145 field goals.

The Kings will also have to neutralize Jonas Valanciunas

Valanciunas did not play in the game in Toronto due to injury. He scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Denver game Friday night. Valanciunas ranks seventh with a field goal percentage of 57.8-percentage.

Toronto Raptors v Denver Nuggets

For entertainment purposes only

FiveThirtyEight.com predicts the Raptors have a 63-percent of winning the game on the Sunday night in Sacramento. They also say take Toronto minus 3.5 points.

The sports books show the game going to Toronto minus 1 to 3.5 points. The over/under is a consistent 209.5 points.

The Warriors defeat the Raptors, it was not easy

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Toronto- The Golden State Warriors downed the Toronto Raptors 127-121 Wednesday night in Toronto. The Raptors were playing the second game of a back-to-back series. They faced the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night and lost 121-117. The Raptors, however, did not show any signs of fatigue as they scored thirty-eight points in the first quarter to take a four-point lead 38-34 over the Dubs. The Warriors, as has been their custom so far this season, started slowly. The trailed by ten 29-19 late in the quarter. The Raptors were controlling the boards on defense and driving the lane attacking the rim on offense. Raptor center, Jonas Valanciunas, scored eight points and clogged the middle for Toronto. The Dubs closed the gap to four late in the quarter. Kevin Durant hit a three-point shot as time expired. The Warriors came to life in the second quarter. The Warriors took the lead 41-40 when Durant hit another three. Toronto regained the lead and led by four 49-45 when Steph, KD, and Draymond Green went to work. The Dubs went on a 21-2 run at the end of the quarter to take a thirteen point lead 66-53. They outscored the Raptors 32-15 in the second quarter.

In the second half, Klay Thompson got hot, and the Dubs increased the lead to twenty(74-54). The Dubs appeared to have put the game away, but the Raptors are not exactly chopped liver. They fought back behind the play of Demar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. The Dubs had no rhythm and were committing dumb fouls. DeRozan kept going to the charity stripe and the Raptors went on a 17-4 run to trail by nine 95-86 at the end of three.

The Warriors behind Steph, Andre Iguodala, Patrick McCaw were able to fend off the Raptors as they refused to go down. DeRozan kept making free throws, but Shaun Livingston and David West made key buckets for the Dubs. McCaw sank a three-point shot from the corner and played well on defense making a couple of steals. The Warriors held on to win 127-121.

Game Notes- With the win, the Dubs improve to 9-2. The Raptors drop to 7-4. Steph led the scoring with thirty-five points. KD had thirty, and he had six assists and nine rebounds. Draymond added eleven, and he had five assists and seven rebounds. Draymond also had a couple of steals and several blocks in the contest. Klay Thompson scored fifteen, but he made three key three-point shots in the third quarter.

DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with thirty-four points. He made all seventeen free throws, too. Kyle Lowry had twenty-four. Valanciunas had twelve, and Corey Joseph(14) and Terrence Ross(11) helped the Raptors, albeit in a losing cause.

The Warriors became the first team since 1990 to shoot better tan 50% from the floor and had thirty plus assists in five straight games.

The Warriors travel to Boston to play the Celtics Friday night.

The Warriors lose the first pre-season game of the year to the Toronto Raptors

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Vancouver, British Columbia- The Golden State Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors 97-93 in the first practice game of the 2016-2017 season. The Warriors added superstar Kevin Durant to the team in the hopes of reclaiming the NBA championship. However, they lost six key players due to salary constraints. Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes are now with the Dallas Mavericks. Backup centers Festus Ezeli and Mo Speights with the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers. Leandro Barbosa went to Phoenix, and Brandon Rush signed with Minnesota. The big question facing the Warriors is how well will the new pieces fit in with the club. The new acquisitions Zaza Pachulia, David West, along with holdovers Ian Clark, Anderson Varajeo, James Michael McAdoo, must find a way to blend in with the Warriors big guns. Those guns are Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, and Shaun Livingston.

The Warriors play looked ragged at times. Kevin Durant was just two-for-nine from the floor, and he scored just nine points in the game. Steph Curry had eight points and was one-for-five from three-point range. Klay Thompson led the team in scoring with sixteen and Draymond Green had two. The starters played in the first half only and the second unit and players trying to make the club played the entire second half. The Raptors, on the other hand, used their regulars for the full game.

After the game Warriors coach, Steve Kerr had this to say about his team’s effort “we looked like a team that had four days of practice.” Talking about Kevin Durant, Kerr remarked ‘he’s going to fit right into what we do.

The Warriors next game will be at the Oracle Arena Tuesday night October 4th and will feature a Steph Curry Back-to-back MVP Bobblehead. The Warriors will travel to the SAP Center October 6th to play the LA Clippers and the giveaway that night will be a Klay Thompson San Jose Sharks Bobblehead.