The Toronto Raptors beat the Atlanta Hawks 135-128 on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena. Head Coach Quin Snyder inserted Wesley Matthews into the starting lineup with the absence of De’Andre Hunter who missed this game due to knee soreness. The Raptors used their size and uncharacteristic hot shooting night from deep to win this high-scoring contest.
Toronto has a huge size advantage against Atlanta on the wing, and they imposed their will early, scoring 12 straight points in the paint to open the game. Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes were the catalysts as the Raptors built an 11-6 lead. However, when Bogdan Bogdanović came off the bench, the momentum shifted. His shooting threat opened up avenues for Trae Young to slice up the Raptors’ defense, cutting Toronto’s lead to 24-21. Snyder played Onyeka Okongwu and Clint Capela together early in this game to fight the Raptor’s size advantage. It paid off immediately. Okongwu knocked down multiple corner three’s in a 14-2 Hawks’ run. Atlanta carried a 39-31 lead into the second quarter behind 12 assists and zero turnovers, despite Siakam scoring 14 in the opening frame.
Young continued to cook, hitting two deep three’s to give the Hawks a 44-33 lead. Between the end of the first and the start of the second quarter, Atlanta shot 7-9 from beyond the arc, avoiding Toronto’s interior defense. The Raptors countered with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 50-45 with Siakam doing damage from deep. The Raptor’s star has struggled from three-point range this season, but he shot a 5-6 from downtown, making Atlanta respect his shot and ability to bulldoze his way to the rim. Young executed two exquisite look-off passes to Capela off the pick-and-roll to give Atlanta a 66-64 lead heading into halftime. Young put up a 20-point, 10-assist double-double at halftime, while Siakam led the way with 24 points for the Raptors.
Toronto came out of halftime aggressively, opening up the third quarter with an 11-6 run, as they took a 77-70 lead. The Raptors started the third frame hitting their first eight threes as Gary Trent Jr. made a strong impact off the bench. While Toronto is normally known for their defense, that was not the case last night. The Raptors scored a whopping 39 points in the third quarter on 9-12 shooting from beyond the arc. They took a 103-95 lead into the fourth quarter.
After the Raptors went up 105-97, Bogdanović made two key plays that shifted the momentum. He forced two live-ball turnovers into back-to-back threes to cut Toronto’s lead to 107-105. Toronto’s Head Coach, Darko Rajaković, called a timeout to stop Atlanta’s resurgence, and it paid off. The Raptors countered with a 10-2 run that ultimately sealed the victory. The Hawks never strung together consistent defensive stops throughout the night.
Young finished with a masterful 35-point, 17-assist double-double, while Capela also had a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double. Dejounte Murray scored 20 points and added two blocks, but like many players, he struggled to find his rhythm against O.G. Anunoby’s defense. Saddiq Bey scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards but shot an inefficient 5-14 from the field. Okongwu had 13 points, a career-high three-threes, eight boards and two blocks, while Bogdanović continued his sixth-man-of-the-year candidacy with 20 points and three steals.
For Toronto, Siakam had 33 points (12-19 FG), seven assists and seven rebounds. Scottie Barnes put up 27 points and 10 rebounds on 11-14 from the field, while Anunoby had 22 points on 10-13 shooting. When the Raptors’ three best players shoot this efficiently, it is not going to be a great night for the opposing team. Dennis Schröder scored 17 and added seven assists, and Jakob Poeltl controlled the paint down low with a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double.
Atlanta now sits at 9-14 on the season with a 1-7 record in their last eight games. Jalen Johnson’s absence over the past few weeks has certainly had a heavy impact. If Hunter misses an extended period of games due to knee soreness, the Hawks could drop even further in the standings. They have the chance for revenge against the Raptors again on Friday night at Scotiabank Arena to get back in the win column.
