"James Harden saw multiple bodies on many of his on-ball possessions, Toronto swarmed any drives LA could muster, and this led to fastbreak points off of leak outs. Jamal Shead's fingerprints were all over this one early, especially as a playmaker, his speed empowering him to swing the ball around and slither his way to the basket. He finished the opening period with 10 points and 5 assists, reaping the benefits of his drives to the basket in the form of layups and free throws."
"LA opened up the second half on a 12-2 run which was enough to take the lead. Even without their superstar Kawhi Leonard, LA was making life very difficult for Toronto on offense. Brandon Ingram couldn't venture into the mid-range area without an extra set of hands impeding his path, the middle of the floor collapsed on every Raptors drive. Although Harden was shooting extremely poorly from the floor, his confidence never waned and he kept shooting, adding to this run the Clippers went on."
Toronto opened with an 18-4 run powered by ferocious, suffocating defense that created fastbreak points from leak-outs. James Harden faced heavy defensive attention on many possessions while Jamal Shead excelled as a playmaker, finishing the opening period with 10 points and 5 assists. Los Angeles slowed the pace and saw tertiary players exploit Harden's draw of defenders, trimming the lead to eight. LA began the second half on a 12-2 run to take the lead; a timely Ingram three and a Mamu dunk later tied the game at 68. Mamu converted a floater through contact and scored around Zubac, and Gradey Dick hit consecutive triples to re-widen Toronto's advantage. Harden shot poorly but kept attacking and adding to LA's runs.
Read at Raptors Republic
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