The Toronto Raptors crushed the Brooklyn Nets (16-18) 121-102. The Raptors improve to a 24-12 record on the season and hold onto fourth in the Eastern Conference. The win gives them a bit of breathing room as they gain a 1.5 game lead over the fifth place Philadelphia 76ers (23-14).
Toronto’s Perfect Record
Toronto has a perfect 19-0 record against teams with a sub 50% win record. The only other team’s to do this are the Los Angeles Lakers (28-7) and the Milwaukee Bucks (32-5) who have a perfect 19-0 and 23-0 record against sub .500 teams respectively. It is the winning teams that cause them loads of trouble. Their 5-12 (29.4%) record is the lowest winning percentage among teams with a winning record.
Battle of Attrition
The Raptors 97 shot attempts was an otherworldly 30 more shots then Brooklyn’s 67. The Nets’ 67 shot attempts is by far the fewest amount allowed by the Raptors this season. Before the contest the season low for Toronto’s opponents was 78 attempts which they’ve allowed 4 times.
Brooklyn’s Turnover Frenzy
The low shot attempts was directly correlated to the absurd amount of turnovers that Brooklyn committed. 24 is the highest mark for any Raptors opponent this season and is the highest since January 19, 2019 when the Toronto hosted the Memphis Grizzlies. The Raptors themselves protected the ball extremely well, only allowing 7 turnovers, tying their season low.
Top Perfoming Raptors
Following their poor performance against the Miami Heat (25-10) Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry redeemed themselves. Their 42 second half points nearly doubled their 22 total points from last game. Lowry finished with 26 points in the contest and VanVleet finished with 29. Their combined 16 assists guaranteed that the other Raptors got involved.
Goodnight, Brooklyn.
Vote @Klow7 ⭐️ https://t.co/kQYeprYRUk pic.twitter.com/XHADeWYUKn
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 5, 2020
Up Next
Toronto has a couple days off, before they return home to host the Portland Trailblazers (15-21). Phenomenal team basketball is what propelled the Raptors over Portland in their last meeting. While holding offensive superstar Damian Lillard to season-low scoring again will be a tall task, the team has the tools to dominate them as they have before. Tune in at 7:00 PM/EST on January 7th to enjoy the action.
