Raptors fourth quarter rally falls short as Thunder escape with thrilling win

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Benyam Kidane
and others
• 6 min read
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)

The Toronto Raptors rallied down the stretch, before falling just short against the Oklahoma City Thunder who left Scotiabank Arena with a 110-109 win, their second in a row.

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Missing several players tonight, the Raptors leaned heavily on their starters with all five finishing in double figures, led by 24 points from Gary Trent Jr., while Pascal Siakam added 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. 

Toronto, Ontario native Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 26 points and nine rebounds, while fellow Canadian Lu Dort continued his scoring form adding 22 points, six rebounds and three assists. 

For more on this thrilling encounter, we've got you covered with some key thoughts from the game below.

1. Buzzer breaks Raptors hearts

For a brief moment, it looked like rookie Justin Champagnie had stolen the win for the Raptors, tipping in Fred VanVleet's missed layup in the final second, but he didn't get the shot off in time, leaving the home crowd holding their breath.

“It hurts,” Champagnie said after the game. His layup with 18 seconds to go put the Raptors up by two points and he came  this  close to being the hero on the night.

2. Third-quarter shift

After piling up 64 points in the first half, the Raptors' offence fell flat in the third quarter.

The Raptors couldn't buy a bucket scoring just 12 points, while allowing the Thunder to pour in 33 points and swing the momentum completely in their favour. 

Toronto's shot chart paints a tough picture.

Toronto Raptors third quarter shot chart vs. OKC

They found their groove once the fourth quarter got going and reeled off a 23-8 run and thanks to back-to-back-to-back triples from Siakam, Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet, they tied it up at 105-105, before OKC held their nerve down the stretch to steal the W.

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivers

In his second game back for the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander followed up his 30-point, 13-assist performance against the Detroit Pistons with another strong outing, recording 26 points and nine assists against the Raptors. 

While he had a tough night shooting the ball, going 6-of-17 from the field and 2-of-6 from deep, he was clinical at the free-throw line, going 12-of-12 on the night. 

After the Raptors took a 107-105 lead with 34.3 seconds to go, SGA came up clutch, burying a pair of free throws to tie things up, before setting up Mike Muscala for the 3-pointer that sealed the win, driving into the teeth of the Raptors defence and attracting three defenders before kicking it out for the wide-open shot.

SGA almost single-handedly flipped the game in OKC's favour, scoring 16 of his 26 points in third as he powered a 25-3 run to take an 11-point lead into the final frame.

4. Raptors walking wounded

The Raptors were without three key players tonight in OG Anunoby (hip), Khem Birch (knee) and Precious Achiuwa (shoulder), while Goran Dragic remains away from the team due to personal reasons.

Nick Nurse described Achiuwa's absence as a short-term one, however Anunoby and Birch will be sidelined for the 'foreseeable future' with Birch's swelling in his right knee causing an extended stint on the sidelines.

"They did an MRI. There's nothing seriously wrong with it," Nurse said of Birch's knee. "Just something causing it to swell. There's no damage or whatever and being able to get that under control and keep it under control for an extended time here just so that it doesn't keep going back and forth is the issue."

5. OK Boucher!

In the absence of Birch and Achiuwa, Nurse gave Chris Boucher extended minutes at the five tonight.

Inserted into the starting lineup — his first of the season — Boucher logged 20+ minutes for just the third time in 2021-22 and made his presence felt with his length and activity at the rim, dropping 11 points, seven boards and two blocks, plus some highlight-reel jams. 

With their frontline looking thin, Boucher has a big opportunity over the next week to impress as their only available big man.

6. Rookie showdown

Scottie Barnes, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft and Josh Giddey, the No. 6 overall pick went head-to-head for the first time this season.

Barnes won the individual matchup, recording 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks — including this huge rejection on the Aussie, slapping his shot attempt against the backboard. 

Meanwhile, Giddey finished with 13 points, eight assists and four rebounds, catching Barnes in the fourth quarter with this nice sequence, scoring on one end and blocking his fellow rookie at the other. 

7. What's next?

The Raptors continue their homestand on Friday, Dec. 10, taking on the RJ Barrett and the New York Knicks, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. ET. 

See you then!

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Benyam Kidane Photo
Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor for The Sporting News.