The Toronto Raptors suffered a heartbreaking defeat in Oakland, CA against the Golden State Warriors. It was an incredible atmosphere in Oracle Arena on "Hardwood Classics Night," as the Dubs came out in their "The City" throwback uniforms for the first time since 2007. Toronto was led by both DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, who each scored 28 points. Stephen Curry had 37 points and Klay Thompson contributed 19 points for the Warriors.
The Raptors once again had a sloppy 1st half, filled with turnovers and isolation offense. Defensively, they were able to contain the Warriors until late in the 2nd quarter. The run was sparked by a careless turnover by Valanciunas. He threw a lazy inbound pass which was easily stolen by Curry who got the easy layup. The Raptors couldn't seem to grab a rebound, which led to a lot of second chance points. Oracle Arena was rocking. Toronto went into the half trailing by 16.
The Raps didn't quit. Toronto took their first lead of the second half on two free throws by Lowry midway through the fourth. They had trailed by as many as 18 but found themselves down by just 1 point with possession of the ball with 20 seconds to go. However, Lowry was called for a questionable offensive foul. Curry knocked down 2 free throws which would help seal the deal.
"I don't know what happened," Lowry said after the game. "I just know I got a call for offensive foul. It happens. It's the NBA. The call went against me. That's all I can say about it."
The Raptors were able to get to the free throw line on a consistent basis, which was one of the keys to the game. With an offense that appears stagnant most of the time, it is critical for DeRozan and Lowry to get to the line when in iso situations. And they did, contributing 22 of the team's 30 made free throws.
"In the first half they dictated everything," Toronto Head Coach Dwane Casey said. "I thought in the second half we played well enough to win."
This will be a tough one to forget about, but the Raptors have no time to dwell on it as they head to Salt Lake City to take on the Jazz to complete the back-to-back.
The Raptors now sit at 7-5, while the Warriors remain perfect on the season at 12-0.
GAME NOTES
- Terrence Ross was still unable to play (thumb). Having the streaky three-point shooter back may help the offense.
- Curry now joins Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry and Chris Mullin as the only Warriors to score 20+ points in the team's first 12 games.
- Bogut returned to the starting lineup for the first time since suffering a concussion in the first game of the regular season.