Raptors hopes to break franchise record with 50th regular-season win Monday night dashed
CBC News | Posted: March 28, 2016 8:29 PM | Last Updated: March 29, 2016
Coach Dwane Casey wasn’t interested in talking about what a win Monday night could mean for his team
The Toronto Raptors failed to break past their franchise record for most regular-season victories, as they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night 119-100.
The team tied its highest win total on Saturday, notching its 49th victory of the season by beating the New Orleans Pelicans 115-91.
"To go down in the record books as that team to do that - you know, granted the last couple years we set a franchise record - but to do it again, that'd mean a lot," DeMar DeRozan told CBC News on Monday.
The 50-game mark is often seen as the NBA benchmark, taking a team from good to elite.
But beating an excellent Oklahoma team — currently sitting third overall in the NBA West — is no slam dunk.
Coach Dwane Casey wasn't interested in talking about what a win Monday night could mean for his team, focusing instead on how to beat the Thunder.
"I checked this morning. We're 49. We haven't gotten 50 wins yet," he said.
"I'm not thinking about it... I'm thinking about how we're going to stop Russell Westbrook tonight," referring to the star point guard for the Thunder, who is a five-time NBA All-Star.
The Raptors won their only other meeting with the Thunder this season, back in November.
The team still has nine games left in the regular season. That means they still have a chance to not only beat the franchise record for most wins in a season — but to soar decisively past it.