Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com
It Was Over When…
The Raptors shot 1-for-19 in the first quarter. While the Golden State Warriors led 27-11 after one, a pair of Klay Thompson 3-pointers put them ahead 22-5 and they never looked back in a wire-to-wire win.
"We were getting a couple of stops in the first quarter but we missed a lot of shots," said DeMar DeRozan of the start post-game. "We got stagnant a little bit and they ran away with it."
The Underrated Raptor
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If there was a positive in Friday night’s game it was Terrence Ross, who had his best game of 2015. Ross scored a team-high 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field. Ross was 3-for-8 from beyond the arc in 25 minutes of action.
A Starting Lineup Change
The Raptors moved Patrick Patterson into the starting lineup in place of Amir Johnson. Head coach Dwane Casey said he hoped the move would give the team some offensive punch and the decision was made in part to match up with Golden State’s Draymond Green.
"It was a smaller matchup," Casey said of the move post-game. "I was hoping to give us an offensive punch, but it didn't happen."
Lowry��s Struggles Continue
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It was another rough night for Kyle Lowry who played just 19 minutes against the Warriors. After the game, Casey acknowledged that Lowry has been playing through aches and pains and said the team needs to find some ways for their All-Star point guard to recharge.
”It’s a concern just because it’s fatigue driven," said Casey. "He’s got aches and pains bothering him so we’re going to have to find a way to either get him some rest or get healthy.”
That’s a Rap…
“We’re a funk right now. We’ve got to find our way out of it. The league is not going to feel sorry for us. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve just got to dig our way out of it. The only way we’re going to do it is grind it, stay together, stay positive and keep swimming.” - Dwane Casey on a rough stretch for his team
By The Numbers
3 - point shooting. It was a rough night for Toronto across the board, but the Raptors made just four of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc while the splash bro-ing Warriors connected on 13 of their 28 attempts.
19 - Turnovers for the Raptors, which feels low considering the team turned it over six times in the opening 12 minutes of the game.
31 - Assists for the Warriors to just 15 for the Raptors. Golden State’s game plan involves plenty of ball movement and they were dizzying on the offensive end on Friday night.
5- Shooting percentage for the Raptors after the first quarter, the result of a franchise record-low 1-for-19 shooting from the field in the opening frame.
They Said It
"The last four games we haven't been on edge. Tonight we were on edge. We were making every rotation, making every switch and rebounding. Some of it was some missed shots by them, but I felt like our defensive intensity was back where it needed to be.” - Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, on his team's defensive effort.
“It happens and you can’t play perfect basketball for 82 games. It sucks that we are on this losing streak, but we have to learn from it. We have to put that chip back on our shoulder, honestly, and understand that we can’t take it easy on nobody because everybody is going to come out after us just like we’re going to go after them.” - DeMar DeRozan on turning things around
“Just make the game fun again and going out there and playing and executing the game plans. Basketball is fun in general but when you're losing it kind of sucks the life out of you a little You just have to find some things to get the love and passion back out there.” - Kyle Lowry on the Raptors getting back on track mentally
Up Next
The Raptors head to New York to take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night at 7 PM ET.