Toronto Raptors lose pair of rookies and game to Sacramento Kings
For the second time in four days, the Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings played basketball against each other.
The last time they squared off, it was the Raptors sneaking out a win in overtime after the Kings outscored the Dinos by 10 in the fourth quarter to force the extra frame. Much of the same happened this time around, but it would be Sacramento walking away with a win at home 122-107.
Toronto led by five with 11 minutes left to play, but much like the game four days ago, Sacramento dominated the fourth quarter outscoring the Raps 33-14, led by who else other than DeMar DeRozan.
Damn DeMar
The 35-year-old put on a mid-range scoring clinic in the fourth, hitting turnaround jimmy’s, tough fadeaways, and scoring 11 of his 27 points in the final frame to seal the win.
DeRozan has been a certified Dino killer since he was traded away, averaging 23.3 points in his career against the Raptors, the most against any team in the Eastern Conference, per Keerthika Uthayakumar.
He’s been even better against his former team recently, averaging 27.3 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in his last four meetings against Canada’s team.
The Raptors franchise leader in games played’s masterful contest combined with Domantas Sabonis’ 17-point, 13-assist, 11-rebound triple-double (his fourth straight against the Dinos) proved too much for Toronto to handle.
Injury bug bites again… then again
The injuries have picked up right where they left off last year as rookies Ja’Kobe Walter and Jonathan Mogbo were added to an already laundry list of names on the injury report.
Walter suffered a right shoulder contusion after trying to fight through a Sabonis screen in the third quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. It’s the same shoulder that the 20-year-old suffered an AC joint sprain to before training camp, which caused him to miss the first six games.
After last night’s game, X-rays came back negative on Walter’s shoulder.
Mogbo also limped off the floor in the fourth quarter with what the team called a right hip pointer and also did not return to the game. The pair of rookies join Scottie Barnes (orbital), Immanuel Quickley (back), Kelly Olynyk (back), Garrett Temple (back), and Bruce Brown Jr. (knee) on the shelf for possibly the foreseeable future.
Mitchell moves against his former team
After scoring four points, snagging five steals, and finding seven assists last week against Sac-town, Davion Mitchell scored the ball much better last night.
The former King was second in the team in scoring with 20 points while also adding six assists, three rebounds, and a steal. He was also efficient from downtown, cashing in on 2-of-3 attempts.
Mitchell also pestered Kings guard De’Aaron Fox all night, holding the former all-star to 5-of-17 from the field and 2-of-8 from distance. He also played a key role in holding Fox to 8-of-22 from the field and 0-of-11 from distance four days ago.
Other notable performances:
RJ Barrett: 23 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals
Chris Boucher: 17 points, four rebounds, one assist, 3-of-6 from distance
Jakob Poeltl: 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, 5-of-8 from the field
Keegan Murray: 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, 3-of-8 from distance
Malik Monk: 13 points, six rebounds, two steals
The Raptors are in the midst of their season-long five-game road trip and have started it 0-2. Remaining on the western swing will be a back-to-back against the Los Angeles teams, beginning with the Clippers on Nov. 9 before they make the final stop in Milwaukee on Nov. 12.
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