Raptors at Warriors
The Toronto Raptors have yet to lose on their six-game road trip but the path is only growing harder with a visit to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. The Raptors, who already have two losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and one to the Warriors on the 2016-17 resume, are trying to prove that they belong in the conversation as one of the best teams in the league.
Toronto won its franchise-record seventh straight road game on Monday by overcoming some poor shooting in a 95-91 triumph at Portland, improving to 2-0 on the current trip after beating Utah in the opener. "We found a way to win, that’s the best thing about it," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "I was afraid of this, I was afraid of the Christmas approach, the casual approach that we had. ... We had a lot of guys who didn’t play their game so we’ve got to learn from it, flush this out of our system and go to San Francisco." The Warriors' Christmas approach saw them squander a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead at Cleveland in an NBA Finals rematch on Sunday and fall 109-108 to end their latest winning streak at seven. "It's embarrassing, honestly," star shooting guard Klay Thompson told ESPN.com after the game. "Up 14 in the fourth quarter and we just played not very intelligent at all. We've got to help out (Kevin Durant). We put too much on his shoulders."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, Sportsnet One (Toronto), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (22-8): Toronto won four straight and 14 of its last 16 contests and will face Golden State, Phoenix, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio over the last four games of the road trip. The Raptors are one of the few teams with a backcourt that can match the Warriors in terms of production, and point guard Kyle Lowry is averaging 24.3 points on 56.4 percent shooting in December. Lowry scored 27 points and knocked down five 3-pointers at Portland on Monday to help the team overcome a 33.7-percent shooting night.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (27-5): Durant did his part with 36 points and 15 rebounds in Cleveland but two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry struggled to 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting - the fourth time in the last six games he failed to reach 20 points. "I mean, obviously you can't have 11 shots," Curry told reporters. "I've got to get more looks at the rim, and that's nobody's fault. It's just I got to figure out a way to be more aggressive in that respect and keep the defense honest and use all the talents we have on this team, including my scoring ability." Curry scored 35 points on 10-of-19 shooting in a 127-121 win at Toronto on Nov. 16.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Toronto SF Terrence Ross (wrist) left Monday's game and is day-to-day.
2. Warriors PF Draymond Green is 0-of-8 from 3-point range in the last two games.
3. Golden State took the last five in the series.