This Halloween night became the scariest one in Canada as the Toronto Raptors blew out Atlanta Hawks by a massive score of 139-109. Atlanta Hawks showed a really struggling form, resulting in a disappointing outcome for the Hawks.
After playing his finest game of the year, Trae Young had a bad night. Young had a field goal percentage of 23% and ten turnovers (a career-high in regular season games). In order to turn Young’s Halloween into a nightmare, the Raptors piled up defensively, applying the same strategy as Miami Heat did.
On the attacking end of the court, the Raptors were even more effective. They outscored the Hawks 43-10 on fast break points despite playing at the second-slowest tempo in the NBA. However, they came into tonight with the second-most fast break points, as our pal Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks noted.
Scottie Barnes was the most impactful player
Scottie Barnes played well, making five three-pointers and finishing with a 21-point, 8-rebound, 7-assist performance. Barnes, who is not well-known for his 3-point shooting, had a 6-12 season mark coming into tonight. By shooting 5-9 from outside the arc, including three straights early in the first quarter, Barnes changed the narrative. With 31 points and 12 rebounds, Pascal Siakam extended his control over the Hawks. By the beginning of the fourth quarter, the game was effectively gone due to the Raptors’ dominant play.
Onyeka Okongwu is one factor to be worried about. The Hawks’ reserve center became entangled while driving to the basket and grasped his left shoulder. Okongwu left the game and never came back.
The Hawks’ five-game road trip concludes on Wednesday night when they go see their friends, the New York Knicks.
The majority of the games this season have either ended in heartbreaking defeats in one manner or another or have ended in victories where the opposition managed to make things difficult.
The Toronto Raptors finally get to play a club that is not anticipated to be in playoff contention for their first November game on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs, despite their hot 5-2 start to the season.
Game Stats:
Hawks
Dejounte Murray – 20 PTS, 9 AST
Trae Young – 14 PTS, 10 AST
Clint Capela – 13 PTS, 5 REB
Raptors
Pascal Siakam -31 PTS, 12 REB
Scottie Barnes – 21 PTS, 8 AST
Gary Trent Jr. – 21 PTS, 1 REB
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