TORONTO — After a fifth straight loss and eighth in 10 outings, Toronto Raptors keeper Fred VanVleet lamented that the team’s slide was unacceptable.
Jordan Poole scored a career-high 43 as the Golden State Warriors without Stephen Curry beat the Raptors 126-110 on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena.
“This is a terrible time,” VanVleet said. “You don’t want this. You did not expect this, and you cannot accept this. That’s where we are. There’s a lot of basketball to play, and a lot of time to fix it.”
VanVleet points to last season when the Raptors were mired in a similar slump.
“We also looked like this for a long time last year,” he said. “The beginning of last year had its ups and downs, it seemed a bit bleak at times, and we got hot at the end of the year.
“There are good times and bad times throughout the season. We are in a bad phase that needs to be stopped immediately. And we’ll try to find a way to do that. All it takes is one win to get the vibe back. Lose, that’s bad. It’s hard to deal with when you’re expecting to win. So we’re in it right now.
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The five-game losing streak is the Raptors’ longest drought (13-17) since they lost seven in a row at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Meanwhile, the defending champion Warriors (15-16) halted a three-game losing streak.
Poole took 14/23 points from the pitch, including five on three, surpassing his previous best of 38. Golden State ADC Klay Thompson got 17 points, while Draymond Green and JaMychal Green scored 17 and 15, respectively.
Poole said: “It’s great to be turning 40. “But more importantly, it’s great to have a road win. People needed to step up when one of your leaders fell, and everyone did that tonight.”
VanVleet and head coach Nick Nurse believe the Raptors need to regain their resolve on defense.
“Our defense was not very good and they achieved whatever they wanted,” VanVleet said.
“It was the first time at home that we put on one of those defensive performances where we really couldn’t keep up with them, or find them, or guard the perimeter or guard,” Nurse said. to add.
Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 27 points, while VanVleet finished with 22. VanVleet had 39 consecutive points.
Toronto striker Scottie Barnes added 17 points.
Siakam opened the game with three consecutive pointers giving the Raptors a 6-3 lead. However, that was the last time the home team took the lead.
With a strength of 13 points in the first half of Draymond Green, including 3 consecutive 3 points, the Warriors led 36-26 after the opening half.
Despite starting the second half 5-0, the Raptors were trailing 68-54 at halftime. Poole did most of the damage with 15 points in the frame, bringing the first half total to 25.
Golden State enjoys a 102-80 advantage after three quarters.
Curry missed the second game because of a pain in his left shoulder, and Canadian Andrew Wiggins (groin) was also absent.
Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. (quadriceps) missed the second straight game.
ANUNOBY CLOSED
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse expects OG striker Anunoby to return to action at some point this week. Anunoby missed his fourth game in a row on Sunday due to a strain on his left hip and injured shooter
The nurse also revealed Anunoby was dealing with an unspecified illness.
“I hope he comes back this week, sometime,” Nurse said. “What (the medical staff) said was that he was back and over the illness, both his arm and his hip were recovering.”
NEXT
The Raptors hit the road in three games, starting Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers, followed by the New York Knicks on Wednesday and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on December 18, 2022.
© 2022 Canadian Press
