Not as undermanned as they’ve been on far too many nights this season, not as vulnerable against a high-end opponent, the Raptors gave it their best shot against the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, knowing their best wouldn’t be good enough.
The Mavs reside in the NBA’s high-rent district, a championship-contending team featuring a handful of household names.
On a night normally reserved for hockey, hoops took centre stage at Scotiabank Arena where fans were entertained and enthralled.
The fact the Raptors lost, 125-118, didn’t seem to dampen the experience as Mavs superstar Luka Doncic recorded his second triple-double in as many games.
Jakob Poeltl was back in the Raptors lineup, as was Canadian Kelly Olynyk who was making his season debut after being sidelined with a back injury.
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Toronto went with a starting group in Poeltl, Scottie Barnes, Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett and Ochai Agbaji that was as complete as it’s been all season, minus only the still-injured Immanuel Quickley (wrist) at point guard.
Dallas went with Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington and Dereck Lively II, the kind of lineup most teams would envy.
Unlike their one-side loss to the Thunder the night before, against Dallas, the Raptors were much more competitive, though there was a huge disparity when it came to shot making and shot creation.
In Doncic and Irving, Dallas has two elite guards who can get off virtually any shot they want, even when facing stifling defences. All teams can do is contest and then hope shots don’t drop.
Every once in a while, one will have an off night. But rarely will both struggle from the field on the same night.
When Doncic’s 35-foot runner banked in to beat the halftime buzzer, fans went into a tizzy.
No one seemed to mind the 70-54 halftime hole facing the Raptors when everyone in attendance was star-gazing. The Doncic-Irving combo combined for 33 points in the opening 24 minutes, a stretch that saw Dallas attempt 20 free throws, while Toronto had six, including four by Dick.
The Mavs also had a plus-13 edge on the boards.
No one should be surprised at the way Dallas played. The surprise was how the Raptors performed in the second half in pushing the Mavs to the limit, outscoring them 64-55.
Toronto ended the third quarter on a 9-0 run and continued to compete in the fourth. A Ja’Kobe Walter jumper off a Poeltl screen made it a two-possession game with 4:37 remaining but that was as close as it would get.
For the Mavs, it turned into a two-man show with Irving sharing the stage with Doncic. The dynamic duo was responsible for 51 of the Mavs’ 100 points when Dallas led by 24 points late in the third quarter.
Doncic scored 30 points while pulling down 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Irving had 29 points.
For the home side, Dick played with bounce in his second game back from an injured calf muscle, fearlessly attacking the basket and was confident when heaving shots. He led the Raptors in scoring with 27 points.
Poeltl finished with 20 while Barnes, with 19 points and 14 assists, was two rebounds away from a triple-double of his own.
With Olynyk, who finished with 13 points, back in the rotation, Chris Boucher became the odd-man out.
MAVS AND HAVE-NOTS
Dallas, which advanced all the way to last spring’s NBA Finals, came into Toronto on a tear, having won four straight on the road and six of its past seven away contests.
It’s a Mavs team, barring injury, that will once again contend in the highly-competitive West. A championship rematch with Boston, in fact, isn’t so unthinkable.
For now, the Mavs are adapting to life with Thompson, whose ability to spot up and drain shots is ideally suited playing with the likes of Doncic and Irving, two guards who always demand extra attention from opposing defences.
The Mavs last played Thursday when they routed the lowly Wizards in Washington, 137-101.
Doncic is more than capable of recording triple-doubles each time he steps on the floor. His first of the season came in Washington when he scored 21 points, dished off 10 assists and hauled down 10 rebounds.
For Doncic, it was has 78th-career triple-double as he moved into an exclusive club in tying with Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden for the seventh-most in NBA history.
Add in Saturday’s triple-double against the Raptors and Doncic broke the tie with the Big Dipper and the big ball stopper.
Dallas will play OKC on Tuesday night in an NBA Cup quarterfinal.
Last spring, the top-seeded Thunder played the fifth-seeded Mavs in the Western semifinals won by Dallas in six games.