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The Golden State Warriors have narrowly avoided their heaviest ever defeat as the Toronto Raptors cruised to a crushing 130-77 victory on Saturday AEDT.
The Raptors outscored the 2018 champions by 51 points in the second and third quarters, the largest point differential over two quarters within a game in NBA history.
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Golden State also became the fourth team in the last 25 seasons to trail by at least 60 points in a game.
It currently ranks as the largest defeat of the 2020/21 NBA season, bettering the Los Angeles Clippers’ 51-point loss to the Mavericks in December.
It was also Golden State’s second-worst loss in franchise history.
The Warriors were without superstars Steph Curry and Draymond Green on Saturday, and their absence was undeniably felt at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.
The team shot 32.9 per cent from the field, committed 21 turnovers and got out-rebounded 57-45.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said after the loss: “We just got destroyed. Not a whole lot to be said. Humiliating for everybody involved.
“I just think the game went south on us quickly, and we got demoralised.
“Without Steph and Draymond out there, I think we were a little bit rudderless when things went south.
“We didn’t have the internal fight that we needed to get over the hump.
“As a coach, you try to navigate the season with your team as best you can. So there’s times for humour, there’s times for joy, there’s times for serious discussion and soul searching. This is a time for soul searching for sure.”
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Incredibly, the Raptors had lost 13 of their most recent 14 games before Saturday’s thumping win — their season record subsequently improved to 19-30.
Toronto forward Pascal Siakam was a standout performer on his birthday, scoring 36 points and mustering seven rebounds, while teammates Gary Trent Jr. and OG Anunoby contributed 24 and 21 points respectively.
In comparison, Andrew Wiggins managed a team-high 15 points for the Warriors.
— with AFP
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