Golden State Warriors vs. Toronto Raptors Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 18th 2022
Elijah Davis
One team will end a losing streak Sunday when the short-handed Golden State Warriors visit the Toronto Raptors.
The Warriors, who will be without Stephen Curry (partially dislocated left shoulder) for a few weeks, lost Friday to the host Philadelphia 76ers 118-106 for their third successive defeat.
The Warriors were also without Draymond Green (quadriceps) and Andrew Wiggins (thigh).
Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer Friday to give the visiting Brooklyn Nets a 119-116 victory over the Raptors, who lost their fourth straight.
The Raptors were without O.G. Anunoby (hip) for the third consecutive game and Gary Trent Jr. (quadriceps) was a late scratch.
The Warriors did get some good news when Wiggins was cleared to return to practice on Thursday. He was injured while scoring 36 points against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 3.
This is the first meeting of the season between the teams who met in 2019 NBA Finals, won by Toronto.
The Warriors, the reigning NBA champions, will be playing the fourth game of a six-game trip. The Raptors will complete a three-game homestand.
Golden State led 57-55 at halftime in Philadelphia but was outscored 33-24 in the third quarter.
"I liked the effort, I liked the ball movement," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "I didn't like the fouling. They shot 31 free throws to our 13, made 14 more than us and it was a 12-point game. There's the game."
Jordan Poole led Golden State with 29 points on 10-for-20 shooting from the field.
"Keep playing my game, try to lead these guys to a couple wins," Poole said. "Really try to lock in and get into the rhythm while we're on the road."
"I thought (Poole) was much better in terms of staying poised," Kerr said. "He did a better job (Friday) not getting frustrated emotionally."
Klay Thompson had 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting from the field.
"It was a tough night for Klay," 'Kerr said. "Just his effort was there, but the shots were not going. Just wasn't his night, but he will bounce back."
The Raptors dropped to 10-5 at home after a second consecutive close loss. They lost 124-123 to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
Fred VanVleet scored 25 of his 39 points in the first half on Friday. He matched his season best in points set Wednesday.
Scottie Barnes scored 26 points and Pascal Siakam had 17 on Friday.
The Raptors led by 18 points late in the second quarter, but Brooklyn scored the final eight points of the first half.
"I wouldn't say we made all the right plays, but we did make a lot of good plays, played really hard and really tough at both ends," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "Everybody who hit the floor contributed in some way. Came up a little short. Would have liked to execute better at the end on that defensive play and get it out of (Irving's) hands."
"Losing is not acceptable, obviously everything is circumstantial and situational but you just always keep a good perspective in terms of life," VanVleet said. "Other than that, you just look at the tape and try to see where you can be better. We have got to keep pushing, we got another tough team (Golden State) coming in on Sunday and we've got our work cut out for us after that."
--Field Level Media
Golden State vs. Toronto Recap APR 2TH 2021
TORONTO -- Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for three 3-pointers in the final three minutes, and the Golden State Warriors held on to defeat the Toronto Raptors 106-105 Monday night in Game 5 to stay alive in the NBA Finals.
The Raptors attempted a title-winning shot, but Kyle Lowry's 3-point try from the corner hit the side of the backboard at the buzzer.
The best-of-seven series resumes Thursday in Oakland, Calif., with Toronto leading 3-2.
Curry finished with 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, though he hit just 10 of 23 shots from the floor and 5 of 14 from 3-point range.
"Missed shots can't kill your confidence. I'm going to get my legs ready for Game 6 and take those same shots," Curry said. "I have whole lot (to give). We know how hard it is. We gave ourselves a chance. It's doing to be a dogfight for 48 minutes. We'll be ready."
Thompson scored 26 points, and DeMarcus Cousins added 14 points for Golden State. Draymond Green had 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Kevin Durant had 11 points and two rebounds for the Warriors before being helped from the court with 9:46 remaining in the first half with a lower right leg injury. He did not return. Durant had missed the previous nine games due to a calf strain.
Curry said on the ABC broadcast regarding what Durant's effort meant, "He sacrificed his body for us. I've got a lot of emotions right now."
Kawhi Leonard had 26 points -- 12 in the fourth quarter -- and 12 rebounds for the Raptors. Lowry added 18 points, Marc Gasol had 17, Serge Ibaka 15, Pascal Siakam 12 and Fred VanVleet 11.
The Warriors trailed by six with 2:30 to go before going on a 9-0 run that consisted of a pair of Thompson 3-pointers and another from Curry.
Golden State overcame two goaltending calls on Cousins in the final 1:59, plus an over-and-back violation on Draymond Green and an offensive foul for a moving screen on Cousins with 14.9 seconds left, setting up the final possession.
The Warriors took a six-point lead into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 14 in the third.
The Raptors cut the deficit to three points on Ibaka's dunk with eight minutes to play, and Leonard's put-back trimmed the margin to one.
Draymond Green's 3-pointer had Golden State ahead by four, but Norman Powell's running dunk cut the deficit to two with 5:36 to go.
Toronto took a three-point lead on Leonard's 3-pointer and followed by a jump shot with 4:46 to play. Leonard hit another 3-pointer and added a pullup jumper to give Toronto a six-point lead with 3:28 to play.
Thompson's 3-pointer trimmed the gap to three with 2:32 left.
Toronto was called for a shot-clock violation, and Curry tied the game at 103 with a 3-pointer. After Leonard's miss, Thompson came back with a 3-pointer with 57.6 seconds remaining, and the Warriors led by three.
Lowry's layup cut the lead to one point with 29.9 seconds to play.
Cousins was called for an offensive foul with 15.7 seconds to play, giving Toronto a chance, but Lowry missed his shot as time expired.
--By Larry Millson, Field Level Media
- NBA
