
The Toronto Raptors are frustrated after a 119-94 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers inside the Intuit Dome.
The Raptors had an opportunity to inch closer to earning a top six seed in the Eastern Conference, but their loss against the Clippers now has them in sixth place, with just a half game separating them from the play-in. Here's a look at five things to know from the box score between the Raptors and Clippers.
The Raptors did not have Immanuel Quickley on the floor against the Clippers, so that meant Scottie Barnes was going to have more of a role as a facilitator. For the second straight contest, Barnes cracked double-digit assists.
Going into the game, the Raptors were 5-1 when Barnes had at least 10 assists. Unfortunately for the team, they could not conjure up other offence, and that's what ended up costing them.
The Raptors did not do a good job defending the perimeter, allowing 16 three-pointers to be made by the Clippers. The hottest shooter from beyond the arc was point guard Darius Garland, who made five of his nine attempts from distance. Brook Lopez and Nic Batum each had three makes from the three-point line, while Kawhi Leonard and Kobe Sanders each had a pair.
Considering the fact that the Raptors only made ten three-pointers on their own, this was a massive difference in how the game ended up.
Brandon Ingram missed the last game with heel soreness against the Jazz, but he managed to return and be the team's leading scorer in the process. Ingram had just 18 points on 8 of 18 shooting, showing signs that his heel was no longer bothering him, but he could have had a better game, as we've seen him perform at a higher level in the past.
Some might say this game was lost by the Raptors in the first quarter when the Clippers dropped 36 on them in the first 12 minutes. It put the Raptors behind by a lot and that's ultimately what ended up costing them the win. The Raptors had a sluggish defence coupled with a cold offence that had just 22 points of their own.
As a team, the Raptors were abysmal from the free throw line, making just 4 of 11 shots from the charity stripe. It's the second-worst free throw shooting performance of the season. The only time a team was worse from the free throw line this year came two weeks ago, when the Houston Rockets made just 35.7 per cent of their free throws against the Denver Nuggets.
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