GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS FALL SHORT TO TORONTO RAPTORS AFTER HAVING FOUR OF THEIR STARTERS OUT

 By: Abby Cooper

                                                        Photo Courtesy of the Mercury News

Four starters, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins sat out for the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, December 18th against the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. 

Fred VanLeet is a strong player for the Raptors, averaging 20.1 points per game. VanLeet was consistent against the Warriors, hitting six three-pointers and 12 assists. Scottie Barnes was also a key factor on Saturday scoring 21 points. Toronto found their rhythm and shot 50% breaking the Warriors 31 game streak of keeping their opponents shooting under 50%. The Raptors had the lead the whole game, and took advantage of the Warriors best players being out, beating them 119-100. Jonathan Kuminga had a career high of 26 points for the Warriors and Damian Lee had 14. Golden State could not keep their four game winning streak as they scored a season-low of 42 points in the first half. 

According to Fox News, Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said, “I thought we played a lot better in the second half, competed better. In the first half, we were on our heels and didn’t have a lot of juice and confidence."

The Raptors were able to move the ball quickly on offense, which opened up shots for sharpshooters like VanLeet, who scored 27 points. The Warriors have a strong offense, but with Curry out, they could not knock as many shots down. 

The Warriors are Second in the Western Conference, and are 24-6. The Raptors are 10th in the Eastern Conference and are 14-15. Golden State visited Toronto for the first time since the 2019 Finals when they won the Championship.