Raptors lose focus in 117-106 loss to L.A. Clippers

Share

A concerning trend continued Sunday night as the Toronto Raptors looked out of sync in a 117-106 loss to the LA Clippers. And that allowed the Boston Celtics to inch a little closer to the top of the NBA's Eastern Conference.

Jonas Valanciunas topped Toronto's stats sheet with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Pascal Siakam had 15 points.

Kyle Lowry, playing on his 32nd birthday Sunday, had a mediocre 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while fellow all-star DeMar DeRozan had just 11 on a dim 3-of-12.

Former Raptor Lou Williams was the biggest weapon for the Clippers, leading the way with 26 points, while Tobias Harris put up 20 on the Raptors. DeAndre Jordan made his trouble on the boards, nabbing 14 rebounds.

The loss makes the cushion a little less comfy atop the East for the first-place Raptors (54-20), as the Celtics now sit just 3 1/2 games back.

"We've got to make sure to do the little things, and they've slipped," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "Our defence, our offensive execution, passing, and all of that affects our rhythm."

The Raptors were trying to bounce back from an unfocused showing on Friday night, during which they had to rely on a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Brooklyn Nets, the 13th-place team in the Eastern Conference.

The Clippers came to Toronto sitting just a few games back of the final playoff spot in the West. Before the game, Clippers coach Doc Rivers provided an interesting view on the Raptors soaring to the top of the East this season after changing their offence to one heavy on ball movement and three-point shooting.

"This year stands out because [Casey] had to sell [the players] on changes and that's not easy to do. Listen, I've been places and it works for a while and then when you start struggling you tend to go back to what you're used to, but they've maintained it," Rivers said.

"We played them in [preseason] and they were playing that style. I remember after the first game I was like, 'yeah, that's going to last'. I didn't think they would stay with it. I thought Case would stay with it but it's a sell to your players … they've bought into it, and it's pretty impressive to watch."

Somehow, though, the Raptors didn't look like the sharp-shooting, smooth ball-moving team Rivers had described.

The Raps jumped to a 35-28 lead after the first quarter, as Valanciunas banged in 12 points while Clippers star big man Jordan was kept off the scoresheet.

By halftime, Toronto had held Los Angeles to 40-per-cent shooting and was winning the battle of the benches, so it remained in command, 60-53.

The Clippers took over immediately in the third quarter. Austin Rivers got loose for seven early points, spurring his team on a 19-9 run as the Raptors' shooters went cold.

It was a couple of Toronto reserves who temporarily broke the chill. Siakam and C.J. Miles provided some flashy buckets that knotted the game and injected some much-needed life into Air Canada Centre. The fourth quarter began 80-80.

But the Raps collapsed early in the last quarter, letting the Clips go on a 16-2 run – one sparked by a scoring spree from that ex-Raptor Williams and the total dominance around the rim of 7-foot-3 Serbian big man Boban Marjanovic.

The Raps teased the crowd with a couple of exciting three-pointers from Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet down the stretch, but the Raps didn't gain much traction from it.

It was a rare night when the Raps bench was outscored by an opposing reserve unit – 53-49 this time.

"We're playing for something, we're playing for home-court advantage. Everybody is fighting for those spots and it's on us. Our destiny is in our own hands," Casey said. "In a crazy way it's good for us, that we're not cake-walking through these last eight, nine games. But at the same time we've got to improve and get better."

Toronto wraps up this three-game home-stand on Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets. It's one of eight games left on their regular-season schedule.