Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors’ 116-93 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
One — Shutdown: This was the Raptors’ best defensive showing of the season and it’s not particularly close. The Mavericks came in on a back-to-back after losing to Chicago and the Raptors pounced all over them. Rick Carlisle tried to shake the Mavericks out of their malaise in the first quarter with a quick ejection over a blowup at the referees, but it didn’t work. The Raptors made life miserable for the Mavericks, especially in the third quarter where Fred VanVleet ripped the ball from Kristaps Porzingis, OG Anunoby mugged Luka Doncic for another takeaway, and Kyle Lowry followed it with a deflection of his own.