Raptors fall 112-103 to the Blazers as several Canadians shine

Sharpe, Barrett, Lawson, and Banton showed how bright the future is for Canadian basketball as Portland came away with the play-in-boosting victory.

It was 2010s night at Scotiabank Arena. However, a Canadian basketball game broke out.

The visiting Portland Trailblazers defeated the Toronto Raptors, 112-103, as a plethora of Canadians took over the scoreboard.

The Blazers were led by London native, Shaedon Sharpe, who broke the record for most points scored by a Canadian against the Raptors, with 36 points. Former Raptor, and Torontonian, Dalano Banton scored 21 points. Toronto was led by Mississauga native, RJ Barrett, who returned after resting in the previous game, with 18 points. AJ Lawson, who was born in Brampton, had 13 points off the bench.

Sharpe’s 36 points are the 3rd-highest in any game by a Canadian. The top two performances, 39 and 37 points, were both produced by Barrett, of course.

From the non-Canadian department, Deni Avdija had 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists for a Portland squad still fighting for a play-in spot in the West. Ochai Agbaji, who also missed the last game for rest, led all reserves with 15 points.

The Toronto Raptors continued their season-long tribute of the 30th anniversary by celebrating the 2010s. Terrence Ross was in attendance and received a loud ovation during a timeout. Leo Rautins and Paul Jones were also recognized with video tributes.

In the pre-game pressers, both Head Coaches, Chauncey Billups and Darko Rajakovic spoke about the importance of pressuring the ball early.

“It’s disruptive. If you ask any opposing player….nobody likes to play against that type of defense,” said Rajakovic. “It does not allow teams to get into their offensive sets easily.”

When asked about higher pickup points on the defensive end, Billups replied, “I love it. If you’re gonna be that young, why not play full court?”

Ball pressure was evident throughout the first quarter. Avdija picked off two passes by Jonathan Mogbo. Jamal Shead stole from Banton as he crossed halfcourt. After a Mogbo bucket, the Raptors applied full-court pressure on the inbounds pass, leading to a five-second violation.

Barrett blocked a layup attempt by Banton from behind, eventually leading to a Ja’Kobe Walter three-pointer. On the next possession, Barrett forced Banton into a turnover, leading to a Shead steal and Barrett putback layup off a Shead miss. The Toronto-on-Toronto crimes were rampant!

While Toronto spread the scoring wealth with nine different Raptors scoring in the first quarter, almost all of Portland’s offense came from two players. Sharpe and Deni Avdija combined for 25 of Portland’s 29 first-quarter points.

Portland was without a starting lineup worth of talent as Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, DeAndre Ayton, and Robert Williams were all inactive. For Toronto, Jakob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley were given the night off, joining the injured Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick on the sidelines.

The Blazers entered the game only 3 games back of the Sacramento Kings for the final play-in spot in the West.

Picking up ballhandlers well beyond the three-point line was an ongoing theme. Lawson broke up a dribble handoff between Avdija and Donovan Clingan, leading to a breakaway dunk for AJ.

Barrett must’ve had five deflections in the first half. He poked another ball free that was scooped up by Barnes and led to a fastbreak layup for RJ.

With both teams applying a ton of ball pressure, combined with the depleted lineups on both sides, the following tweet makes a whole lot of sense.

Three of the four leading scorers from the first half were born in the Greater Toronto Area. Sharpe had 20 points. Barrett led Toronto with 12, while Lawson led all reserves with 9. Avdija did not score in the second quarter and finished the half with 14.

At halftime, the Raptors led the Blazers in transition points (+5), steals (+4), and points in the paint (+10). Yet, with only a 50-47 lead, it felt like Toronto left too much on the table.

Both teams exchanged the lead throughout the first few minutes of the second half. When Barnes and Barrett went to the bench, Portland took control of a tight game, turning a tie game into a 6-point advantage.

The Sharpe and Avdija show continued in the third quarter. This time, they brought Dalano Banton along for the ride. The trio outscored the Raptors 29-26 as Portland entered the final frame with an 83-76 lead.

Portland carried the momentum from the third quarter into the first few minutes of the fourth. With the Raptors unable to cut into Portland’s lead — and Scottie Barnes absent on both ends of the floor — Darko called timeout with 7:33 left and a 94-85 deficit. As has been the case for the last month, the core players (Barnes and Barrett tonight) took to the bench for the evening. Billups kept his starters on the floor, ensuring Toronto’s reserves couldn’t cut into Portland’s lead.

With the loss, Toronto “clinched” a worse record than the Blazers and can drop no further than 8th in the reverse standings. Considering the consistent losing by the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, the only place the Raptors could conceivably move is from 7th to 8th. However, consecutive losses by Toronto combined with last night’s Spurs win over the Denver Nuggets means the Raptors’ Flagg-ic number is now only two. Any combination of two Raptors losses or Spurs wins will clinch 7th spot in the draft lottery standings for Toronto. With the 2nd game of a back-to-back against the 5th-place(!!) Detroit Pistons tomorrow and a couple more games still to play, the Raptors likely don’t need to wait until the final game of the season — in San Antonio — to finalize their spot in the draft lottery.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: enjoy these final games of the season. It may be a long time (ideally) before the Raptors are playing meaningless games again. The growth of the young players provides a glimpse into the bright future of this roster, while the losses provide hope for a huge talent to join the squad!