Kyle Lowry scored 32 points – 20 of them in a jaw-dropping final quarter – as the injury-hampered Raptors overcame a 30-point second-half disadvantage to win on Sunday.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Kyle Lowry erupted for one of the most spectacular quarters of his career on Sunday as he quarterbacked the Toronto Raptors to their largest comeback victory in franchise history.
Lowry scored 32 points – 20 of them in a jaw-dropping final quarter – as the injury-hampered Raptors overcame a 30-point second-half disadvantage to stun the Mavericks 110-107. The all-star point guard combined with four bench players late in the game to turn a snoozy matinee into a barn-burner for the record books.
Lowry’s hot performance also included eight rebounds and 10 assists in 42 minutes. Missing injured stars Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Norman Powell for a second successive game, Lowry and the shorthanded Raps leaned heavily on a cast of backups to construct the NBA’s first 30-point comeback since the Sacramento Kings shocked the Chicago Bulls in 2009.
“He was unbelievable, right?” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Lowry. “He was doing it all. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything like it.”
Chris Boucher recorded a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored a season-high 18. Rookie Terence Davis added nine points and Malcolm Miller provided defensive hustle down the stretch. Fred VanVleet pitched in 10 points.
Lowry touted Davis, Miller, Boucher and Hollis-Jefferson.
“I give them all the credit today. They won that game for us,” Lowry said. “We stayed with it. You don’t have to say much to that group because those guys are a bunch of guys who are fighting, continuing to prove and get better.”
It was a fifth successive victory for the Raps, who improve to 21-8. The Mavericks had arrived in Toronto 11-2 on the road.
Dallas was without Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic, sidelined since spraining his ankle on Dec. 14. Jalen Brunson had 21 points and nine assists for the Mavs, while Kristaps Porzingis had 19 points with 12 boards, and Canadian Dwight Powell added 17 points and nine rebounds.
The Mavs missed their first 11 field-goal attempts, and slipped into an 11-1 hole, as the Raps jumped out to a 20-17 lead by the end of the first-quarter – a messy one full of turnovers. Dallas then outscored Toronto 34-22 in the second. Porzingis hit a 30-foot Hail Mary dagger at the buzzer to give the Mavs a 51-42 lead headed into halftime.
The Raps spiralled into a 30-point disadvantage during a disastrous third quarter. They were muscled and badly out-rebounded and trailed by 23 when the quarter was over.
“The mood was really bad to start the fourth quarter. We were getting our butts kicked,” Nurse said.
Then came the most fascinating quarter of this Raptors season.
The players came out with urgency, pressing full court, creating steals and scoring quick buckets to rapidly shave the Dallas lead down to 16. After a tip-in bucket from Hollis-Jefferson, he threw his arms in the air and demanded the Toronto fans help fuel a comeback.
The arena got louder by the bucket as the Raps hacked the Mavs’ lead down to two. The unheralded lineup of Lowry, Davis, Hollis-Jefferson, Boucher and Miller was getting it done.
Lowry was scoring frequently all quarter – on everything from crafty layups to deep balls and falling backward jumpers, organizing his teammates and taking command. He made seven of his 10 shots in the quarter, including four of six from deep. Boucher had 12 in the quarter, including the most exciting dunk of the game. Davis added nine in the quarter, Hollis-Jefferson six. Miller was nabbing steals and rebounds. That unconventional Toronto lineup took the lead with just over four minutes to play. The building got deafeningly loud.
“We could feel down on the court, how much they wanted us to win this game. It was probably one of the best games I’ve been to, for real,” Boucher said.
It was tense in the final minutes, but the Raps rode out an exhilarating win.
“That zone defence that they did maybe caught us off guard,” a bewildered Porzingis said after the game. “Tonight was a weird, weird game honestly. I still can’t process what happened.”
The Raptors are in Indianapolis on Monday night to play the Pacers. They take Christmas Eve off before playing host to the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day.
Rachel Brady