Raptors flatten Warriors to complete season sweep
Balanced offence key for Toronto in Kawhi Leonard's absence
Minus their top player and with their coach still mourning his mother's death two days earlier, the Toronto Raptors put an emphatic stamp on a season sweep of Golden State.
They did it with the two-time defending NBA champion Warriors nearly at full strength, too, a very different scenario from when the teams played in Toronto less than two weeks ago.
Kyle Lowry had 23 points and 12 assists to lead a balanced Toronto offence while leading scorer Kawhi Leonard sat out, and the Raptors dominated from the start in routing the Warriors 113-93 on Wednesday night.
"When you play them you have to do a lot of things well," said Toronto assistant Adrian Griffin, who spoke with reporters after the game while head coach Nick Nurse left to be with his family in Iowa for his mother's funeral.
"Give our guys credit, they came in ready to play and they fought with great intensity. We knew it was going to be a challenge for us and I thought that Kyle did a phenomenal job leading the team. He is an All-Star, no doubt."
Watch highlights from Toronto's win over Golden State:
Serge Ibaka added 20 points, Danny Green scored 15, Pascal Siakam had 13 and Fred VanVleet 10 to help the Raptors improve to an NBA-best 23-7, matching the 2014-15 squad for the best start in franchise history.
They did it despite not having Leonard for a second consecutive night. Toronto's star forward has a sore right hip and was considered questionable before the game. He was ruled out less than 30 minutes before tip-off.
"Long term we want (Leonard) healthy," Lowry said. "We want him to take the time and get right. But knowing that him being out, a lot of things go through other people. I've been here a long time and we've always said, 'Next man up.' That's how we've always treated everything."
The Raptors also lost 7-foot centre Jonas Valanciunas to a dislocated left thumb in the first half.
So with all that, might this have been Toronto's most satisfying win of the season? Not so fast, Lowry said.
"A good win for us," he explained. "Another game on the journey of 82."
Kevin Durant had 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Golden State. The Warriors had won four straight heading into a much-anticipated showdown between two teams many expect to reach the NBA Finals.
"We didn't start the game off with a sense of urgency," Durant said. "I don't think we overlooked anybody tonight. They just played better than us."
Despite playing the second half of a back-to-back following a 123-99 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, Toronto appeared to be the fresher team. The Raptors repeatedly beat the sluggish Warriors to loose balls and outrebounded them 48-40.
It was Toronto's first win in Oakland since Feb. 8, 2004.
"It's a different vibe, a different feeling when you're on the climb like Toronto is and Milwaukee is like we were a few years ago," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "It's harder to get up for each game. There are certain nights where you can just feel it; you don't have that energy. It's not an excuse. It's just reality."
The Raptors beat the Warriors in overtime earlier this season behind a season-high 37 points from Leonard. Golden State didn't have Stephen Curry or Draymond Green for that game, but both were back for the rematch while Leonard sat out.
It hardly mattered.
Toronto led by 18 in the first half and was up 93-67 early in the fourth quarter following a three-point play by Greg Monroe.
VanVleet said the Raptors' defence was as impressive as their offence.
"They're one of the best teams in the league for a reason and their offence is so lethal that you try to take the main guys out and make them do things that they're not comfortable doing," VanVleet said. "I thought we did a good job following the game plan."
Kerr benched his starters midway through the fourth as the Oracle Arena crowd filed for the exits.
Curry scored 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting. Green was 1 for 5 and finished with two points as Golden State went 6 for 26 on 3-pointers.