Raptors nearly blow it spectacularly again, but survive in Orlando

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After one of the most inexplicable losses in 30 years of Toronto Raptors basketball, this year’s team nearly turned in a sequel in Orlando on Sunday night.

Immanuel Quickley had a rough night in Chicago on Friday and took the blame for the crushing loss afterward. Quickley committed a foolish foul late, resulting in overtime, where the Raptors wilted. Two nights later, Quickley turned in one of his best games of the year, in a game that looked over heading into the fourth quarter, but maybe we should know better.

Quickley scored a team-high 24 points in the Raptors’ 104-102 victory, including keying a 12-4 run to end the third quarter that put the Raptors up by nine and gave the team momentum it carried into the fourth. Orlando scored eight straight points late to make things interesting after being down 12, and closed within two after a Raptors turnover on a 24 second shot clock violation. The Magic somehow had a chance to force overtime after another Raptors turnover, but star player Franz Wagner missed a layup and the Raptors survived. Wagner scored 25, Paolo Banchero 23, 13 of them in the fourth. RJ Barrett added 22 for the Raptors.

Toronto had just given up the largest fourth quarter comeback to an opponent of the season, 16 points. That was the advantage in the final quarter again Sunday. In the end, Toronto survived, improving to 19-42, including six road wins, breaking a tie with three other teams for fewest away victories.

The Magic has been the NBA’s second-best defensive team this season, but has been third-worst offensively. The game matched the NBA’s top two “throwback” teams, in that they simply don’t hit three-point shots. Orlando entered the night making 10.8 three-pointers a game, which ranked last, Toronto 11.5 per, good for 29th. To be fair, Toronto has actually been a far better outside shooting team than the Magic, making 34.9% of its three-point attempts (21st in the NBA), a lot better than Orlando’s ugly 30.5% mark, the worst by any team since Minnesota shot the same percentage in 2012-13.

Both teams managed only seven three-point makes, with Orlando taking until midway through the second quarter to make its first.

Gradey Dick was hit on the head during a collision late in the first half that left him bleeding from the mouth. He did not return and the Raptors said an update would be provided after the sophomore wing was assessed by medical staff.

Orlando’s season has been beset by injuries. Top players Wagner and Banchero have both missed large chunks of the season and a report surfaced Sunday that point guard Jalen Suggs would be out long-term because he needs to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Suggs was selected one pick after Barnes in 2021. Orlando is 20-15 with Suggs in the lineup, 9-18 without him, and has slipped to eighth in the Eastern Conference. You get an indication of the value of Suggs when considering the team is just 10-18 with Banchero, its former No. 1 overall selection in the lineup.

Oddly, Banchero, who scored 51 points in an October game and 41 in a game last week, barely took any shots until his fourth-quarter flurry.

Toronto had lost five of its past six games, and nine of 11.

The road trip wraps up with another game in Orlando on Tuesday, before Toronto returns home for a rarity — four games it will be favoured to win (against Utah, Washington twice and the crumbling Philadelphia 76ers).

@WolstatSun