Raptors stay winless in NBA Cup, loss to Pistons extends skid

Despite a season-best, arguably career-best, performance from Jakob Poeltl and a solid defensive showing, the Toronto Raptors (2-11) ultimately fell 99-95 to the Detroit Pistons (6-8) on Saturday — dropping to 0-2 in NBA Cup action while picking up a sixth consecutive overall.

The Austrian big man finished with 25 points and 19 rebounds for his third 20-point double-double of the season. He was dominant against the likes of Jalen Duren (12 points, eight rebounds) and Isaiah Stewart (three points, seven rebounds) throughout the night. And, for a brief moment, his efforts had earned him the first 20-20 game of his career until a box score correction wiped one of those boards away. He would’ve been just the third Raptor to achieve the feat in a regular season contest and first since Chris Bosh in 2006.

Behind Poeltl was RJ Barrett who bounced back after a tough 0-5 road trip, finishing with 22 points, albeit on 6-of-18 shooting, to go with seven assists, six rebounds and just one turnover. Gradey Dick was the only other double-digit scorer for Toronto on the night, finishing with 16 points, five rebounds and three turnovers on an inefficient 4-of-17 night from the field.

Outside of Poeltl, who scored nine points in the third quarter, it was Toronto’s defence that kept them in the contest. It’s no secret the Raptors have ranked near the bottom of the league on that end, but on a night their usually solid offence collectively shot 35.7 and 25.8 per cent from the field and distance, getting stops is what made things interesting.

Detroit was held to just 18 points on 7-for-28 shooting in the third quarter while allowing just two 3-pointers. The combination of Jakob and the defence turned a three-point halftime deficit into a five-point lead ahead of the fourth.

Maybe it was Kardinal Offishall’s halftime performance that gave Toronto a boost.

Toronto, after losing 99-85 to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, has limited opponents under 100 points in back-to-back games for the first time all season.

While the Pistons shot 76 per cent at the rim on the night, The Raptors on-ball heavy defence paid off as Detroit was limited to 19 makes on 68 attempts (27.9 per cent) from the mid-range and the 3-point line.

Notably, Davion Mitchell and Ochai Agbaji (five combined steals) made it a difficult scoring night for Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. The backcourt duo finished with 15 and 14 points respectively, shooting 6-of-21 and 4-of-13. Had it not been for Malik Beasley who finished with a team-high 20 points while going 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, things might’ve ended differently.

Beasley’s final triple of the night sparked a 7-0 run to open the fourth quarter which tied things up before a separate 9-0 run by Detroit mid-way through the frame — while the Raptors’ offence continued to sputter — put the Pistons up 93-85 en route to an eventual victory.

Key moment

With 30 seconds to go, after Barrett nailed a pair of free throws to bring the deficit to two points, the Raptors got the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead.

Barrett ignored a Poeltl screen, barrelled down the lane and towards the rim before finding Dick in the right corner for a wide-open look. The triple rattled in and out for the sophomore and essentially put an end to the rallying effort.

Dick has surprisingly been sub-par from the corners this season after being near the top of the league as a rookie, shooting just 31 per cent now, with a majority of his makes this year coming above the break. Unfortunately for him and the Raptors, practically none of his looks from anywhere beyond the arc were falling on Saturday as he finished 1-of-10 on 3-pointers.

The bright side of that empty possession was Barrett looked to regain some of that early-season form. During the Raptors’ road trip, it appeared as though the increased ball-handling responsibilities and extra defensive attention had gotten to him as he averaged 4.2 turnovers during that span, a notable uptick from the 2.7 the four games prior. On Saturday he got back to being patient, keeping reads simple and reminding folks why he’s been tasked with operating the offence in the absence of Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley.

Key stat

The Raptors committed just 13 fouls, after committing 11 against the Bucks. While it hasn’t led to many positive results, it’s a stark improvement over the usual 23.5 they average which ranks at the bottom of the league.

If you’re looking for a “win,” there you go. Unless you were at Scotiabank Arena enjoying the Raptors’ slick purple NBA Cup court in person, your win was getting to make a “Swift” exit before the streets got too busy — just as coach Darko Rajakovic hoped.

Up next

It doesn’t get easier for the Raptors as they visit the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics (10-3) for the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Raptors may not be mathematically eliminated from advancing to the NBA Cup knockout stage (yet), but their odds are next to none at this point with an 0-2 record and -18 point differential. Their next group stage game against the Miami Heat won’t be until Nov. 29.

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