CELTICS AT RAPTORS NOTES: Over the past five games, Kyle Lowry is averaging 25.6 points while shooting .455 (40-for-88) from the field, .422 (19-for-45) from 3-point range and .784 (29-for-37) at the free throw line. The last time Lowry scored 30-or-more points in back-to-back games was part of a career-best four-game streak Jan. 27 – Feb. 1, 2017.

INJURY REPORTS AT 5:30 P.M. TUESDAY

12:00 (ET) BOS@TOR

Boston Celtics Fall, Tacko Out G League – Two-Way Hayward, Gordon Probable Injury/Illness – Left Foot; Soreness Poirier, Vincent Out Injury/Illness – Right Pinkie; Fracture Smart, Marcus Out Injury/Illness – Left Eye; Infection Williams III, Robert Out Injury/Illness – Left Hip; Bone Edema.

Toronto Raptors Gasol, Marc Out Injury/Illness – Left Hamstring; Strain Hernandez, Dewan Out Injury/Illness – Right Ankle; Sprain Ponds, Shamorie Out G League – Two-Way Powell, Norman Out Injury/Illness – Left Shoulder; Subluxation Siakam, Pascal Out Injury/Illness – Groin; Strain Thomas, Matt Out Injury/Illness – Left Finger; Middle; fracture – distal phalanx.

RAPTORS NOTES

• The Toronto Raptors host the Boston Celtics at Scotiabank Arena in the first Christmas Day game held outside of the United States. The Raptors are one of five teams that have never hosted a Christmas game joining Charlotte, New Orleans, Minnesota and Memphis. Wednesday’s game is the second of four meetings between the Raptors and Celtics with the next coming Dec. 28 at TD Garden.

• Wednesday marks the second time Toronto has been selected to play on Christmas Day with the lone appearance coming in 2001 at New York. It’s the second-longest active streak between Christmas appearances among teams that have played at least one game. Atlanta has not played a Christmas game since 1989. Charlotte and Memphis are the only team that have never played on Christmas.

• Since 2013-14 when Toronto began a run of six straight playoff appearances, two conference finals appearances and an NBA Championship, a total of 18 different teams have appeared on Christmas Day. Among the 18 teams only Golden State, San Antonio and Houston have posted a better record than Toronto during this stretch.

• Serge Ibaka and Patrick McCaw are the only players on Toronto’s roster that have played a Christmas game. Ibaka has appeared in six consecutive Christmas games (all with Oklahoma City) between 2010-15. His best performance came in 2013 at New York when he scored 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. McCaw played for Golden State in a pair of Christmas games in 2016 and 2017. Toronto is tied with Denver for the fewest players with Christmas Day experience among the 10 teams playing.

• Kyle Lowry will make his Christmas debut after 13 seasons in the NBA. Lowry and Denver’s Paul Millsap (also 13 seasons) are the two longest-serving players in the NBA playing their first Christmas game. He has scored 20+ points in a season-high five straight games (Dec. 16-23), including a team-high 30 points Dec. 23 at Indiana. Over the past five games, Lowry is averaging 25.6 points while shooting .455 (40-for-88) from the field, .422 (19-for-45) from 3-point range and .784 (29-for-37) at the free throw line. The last time Lowry scored 30-or-more points in back-to-back games was part of a career-best four-game streak Jan. 27 – Feb. 1, 2017.

• Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored a season-high 18 points (6-13 FG, 6-5 FT) Dec. 22 vs. Dallas. It was the ninth time this season Hollis-Jefferson has contributed 10+ points as a reserve. Toronto is 8-1 during these games. He ranks third in Raptors bench scoring during the month of December averaging 7.8 points.

• Fred VanVleet has posted a career-high five double-doubles this season. The latest came Dec. 23 at Indiana when he recorded 21 points and 11 assists. In three games since returning from a right knee contusion he is averaging 16.3 points and 6.7 assists.

• December is Toronto’s busiest month of the season with 16 games and includes three back-to-back sets. The Raptors’ 11 games at Scotiabank Arena tie the franchise record for most home games in a calendar month – Toronto also played 11 games at home in March 2016.

PROBABLE STARTERS

F – PATRICK McCAW #22 • Contributed five points (2-5 FG, 1-2 3FG) and two rebounds Dec. 23 at Indiana. • Made first start of the season Dec. 20 vs. Washington and scored a season-high 11 points in 34 minutes. • Missed 17 games (Nov. 6 – Dec. 9) earlier this year following arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

MIN: 23.0 REB: 1.9 AST: 1.3 STL: 1.2 TO: 1.2 BLK: 0.0 PTS: 4.7

F – OG ANUNOBY #3 • Recorded his third double-double of the year Dec. 23 at Indiana with 15 points and 12 rebounds. • Toronto is 14-3 this season when Anunoby scores 10 or more points (Last: 15 – Dec. 23 at Indiana). • Shooting .500 (28-for-53) from the field over the last five games (Dec. 16-23).

MIN: 30.4 REB: 6.0 AST: 1.7 STL: 1.2 TO: 1.2 BLK: 0.8 PTS: 11.5

C – SERGE IBAKA #9 • Tallied 23 points (11-21 FG), nine rebounds and one block Dec. 23 vs. Dallas at Indiana • Started three games this season (Dec. 20-23) – Led the reserves in scoring a team-high 13 times. • Has scored 20+ points in three of his last four games, averaging 19.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.

MIN: 24.1 REB: 7.5 AST: 1.3 STL: 0.5 TO: 1.9 BLK: 1.1 PTS: 13.7

G – KYLE LOWRY #7 • Scored 30 points in back-to-back games for the third time in his career Dec. 23 at Indiana. • Ranks third in franchise history with 112 double-doubles – recorded four this season (last: Dec. 22 vs. Dallas). • Averaging 19.9 points and 8.4 assists in 11 games (Dec. 3-23) since returning from a left thumb injury.

MIN: 38.1 REB: 5.2 AST: 7.6 STL: 1.2 TO: 3.0 BLK: 0.3 PTS: 20.7

G – FRED VANVLEET #23 • Tallied 21 points and matched his season-high with 11 assists Dec. 23 at Indiana. • Returned to the lineup Dec. 20 vs. Washington after missing five games and recorded career-high nine rebounds. • Toronto is 8-3 this season when VanVleet scores 20 or more points (Last: 21 – Dec. 23 at Indiana).

MIN: 36.3 REB: 3.9 AST: 7.0 STL: 1.9 TO: 2.4 BLK: 0.2 PTS: 17.8

INJURY REPORT Marc Gasol (Left hamstring; strain) – Out Dewan Hernandez (Right ankle; sprain) – Out Norman Powell (Left shoulder; subluxation ) – Out Pascal Siakam (Groin; stretch) – Out Matt Thomas (Left middle finger; distal phalanx fracture) – Out

LAST TIME VS. BOSTON GAME 2 – OCTOBER 25, 2019

BOSTON 112, TORONTO 106

BOSTON — Jaylen Brown had 25 points, including a key 3-pointer in the closing minutes, to help the Boston Celtics hold off the Toronto Raptors 112-106 on Friday night. Jayson Tatum finished with 25 points and nine rebounds. Kemba Walker had 22 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. The Celtics shot only 38%, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. They had 109 attempts in the game. Pascal Siakam scored 33 points to lead the Raptors, who went 18 of 36 from the 3-point line. Kyle Lowry finished with 29 points, including six 3-pointers.There were 12 ties and 19 lead changes, with neither team holding more than a seven-point lead.Boston found its shot in the fourth quarter, outscoring Toronto 36-24.The Celtics took a 101 -100 lead on a Grant Williams layup off an assist by Walker.Later, the Celtics were leading 107-106 when Brown hit a 3-pointer with 2:49 to play. Walker struggled from the field for the second straight game, missing his first five field-goal attempts. Coming off a 34-point game in Toronto’s season-opening win over New Orleans on Tuesday, Siakam also started slow. He missed his first four shots and was scoreless in the first period before he got a finger roll to fall just before halftime.

25 CHRIS BOUCHER

Position: Forward Height: 6-10 Weight: 200 College: Oregon Birthday: 1/11/1993 NBA EXP: 2

2019-20 SEASON: • Recorded career highs with 21 points (6-12 FG, 9-12 FT) and four blocks Dec. 22 vs. Dallas; added seven rebounds and two steals in 24 minutes. • Totaled 13 points, a season-high 12 rebounds and a career-best four assists in 25 minutes Nov. 27 vs. New York. • Posted consecutive double-doubles (Nov. 18-20). • Finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds Nov. 20 vs. Orlando. • Recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds, including a career-high seven offensive rebounds, Nov. 18 vs. Charlotte. • Matched then career bests with 15 points (7-11 FG, 1-4 3PT) and three blocks in 24 minutes Nov. 10 at LA Lakers; added two rebounds and a career-high two steals. • DNP three times.

LAST FIVE GAMES

Date Opp. MIN FG-A 3FG-A FT-A REB AST ST BS PTS

Dec. 16 CLE 12:53 2-3 1-1 2-2 5 1 0 0 7

Dec. 18 @DET 06:12 0-2 0-1 2-2 1 0 0 0 2

Dec. 20 WAS 12:48 1-4 0-1 2-2 5 0 0 0 4

Dec. 22 DAL 24:06 6-12 0-1 9-12 7 0 2 4 21

Dec. 23 @IND 13:51 1-3 0-1 3-4 6 0 0 2 5

0 TERENCE DAVIS ll

Position: Guard Height: 6-4 Weight: 205 College: Mississippi Birthday: 5/16/1997 NBA EXP: R

2019-20 SEASON: • Scored in double digits in four-of-five games (Nov. 18-27); averaged 13.4 points. • Scored 15 points and led the team in assists for the first time with five in 29 minutes Nov. 27 vs. New York. • Set career highs with 19 points (7-10 FG, 3-5 3PT, 2-2 FT) and eight rebounds in 27 minutes Nov. 20 vs. Orlando. • Recorded 16 points and a career-best seven assists Nov. 18 vs. Charlotte; scored all 16 points in the fourth quarter. • Totaled five points (2-6 FG, 1-3 3PT) and five rebounds in 15 minutes in NBA debut Oct. 22 vs. New Orleans.

LAST FIVE GAMES

Date Opp. MIN FG-A 3FG-A FT-A REB AST ST BS PTS

Dec. 16 CLE 18:40 2-4 1-2 2-2 2 3 0 0 7

Dec. 18 @DET 12:15 2-4 0-1 0-0 0 3 0 0 4

Dec. 20 WAS 17:46 3-4 2-3 0-0 3 1 0 0 8

Dec. 22 DAL 22:37 2-4 2-3 3-3 5 2 1 0 9

Dec. 23 @IND 19:55 3-9 2-7 0-0 3 2 0 0 8

4 RONDAE HOLLIS-JEFFERSON

Position: Forward Height: 6-7 Weight: 217 College: Arizona Birthday: 1/3/1995 NBA EXP: 4

2019-20 SEASON: • Set season bests with six assists and three blocks Dec. 23 at Indiana. • Scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds Dec. 22 vs. Dallas. • Tied a then season high with 16 points and had 10 rebounds Nov. 25 vs. Philadelphia. • Finished with 15 points and eight rebounds Nov. 18 vs. Charlotte. • Posted first double-double as a Raptor with 16 points and a season-high 11 rebounds in 26 minutes Nov. 13 at Portland. • DNP (left groin soreness) Nov. 8 at New Orleans. • Played four minutes in Raptors debut Oct. 26 at Chicago. • Inactive for the first two games of the season (Oct. 22-25) with left groin soreness. • Inactive three times. DNP five times.

LAST FIVE GAMES

Date Opp. MIN FG-A 3FG-A FT-A REB AST ST BS PTS

Dec. 16 CLE DNP – CD Dec. 18

@DET 13:28 2-4 0-0 1-2 3 1 3 0 5

Dec. 20 WAS 19:05 4-8 1-2 5-6 2 4 0 0 14

Dec. 22 DAL 28:33 6-13 0-0 6-6 9 2 1 0 18

Dec. 23 @IND 37:34 2-3 0-0 4-6 9 6 0 3 8

CELTICS PROBABLE STARTERS

POS No. PLAYER HT WT G GS PPG RPG APG FG% MPG

F 37 Semi Ojeleye 6’6 241 27 4 2.7 2.1 0.4 40.6 15.6

2019-20 NOTABLES: – Scored a season-high 11 points at Sacramento on Nov. 17 behind a career-high-tying three three-pointers – Pulled down a career-high seven rebounds against Miami on Dec. 4 – Swiped a career-high four steals against Cleveland on Dec. 9

F 0 Jayson Tatum 6’8 208 27 27 21.6 7.1 2.8 42.0 34.1 C

2019-20 NOTABLES: – Recorded 21 points and 10 boards in the season opener against Philadelphia on Oct. 23 – Recorded his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds against Cleveland on Dec. 9 – Recorded 30 points, six rebounds and a career-high seven assists against New York on Dec. 1 – Hit the game-winner against New York on Nov. 1 – Recorded a career-high 39 points to go along with a season-high 12 rebounds against Charlotte on Dec. 22.

27 Daniel Theis 6’8 245 24 23 6.9 6.3 1.3 51.9 21.6

2019-20 NOTABLES: – Handed out a career-high six assists to go along with a career-high three steals against the LA Clippers on Nov. 20 while also pulling down a career-high seven offensive rebounds – Recorded a season-high 16 points against Philadelphia on Dec. 12 – Set a new career-high with five blocks against Cleveland on Nov. 5

G 7 Jaylen Brown 6’6 220 24 24 19.8 7.0 2.4 50.4 33.6

2019-20 NOTABLES: – Recorded a season-high 31 points on 10-of-20 shooting and 5-of-9 from three against Miami on Dec. 4 – Recorded his third 20/10 game of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds against Brooklyn on Nov. 27 – Recorded his first 30-point game of the season with 30 points and seven rebounds against San Antonio on Nov. 9

G 8 Kemba Walker 6’0 184 26 26 22.6 4.1 5.4 42.8 32.2

2019-20 NOTABLES: – Made his Celtic debut against Philadelphia on Oct. 23 and recorded 12 points, two rebounds and two assists in 34:15 – Recorded three straight games of 30-plus points from Oct. 26 through Nov. 1 – Recorded 39 points against Brooklyn on Nov. 27 – Netted a season-high 44 points against Indiana on Dec. 11 – Handed out a season-high 11 assists against Detroit on Dec. 20

CELTICS RATTLE OFF 10 STRAIGHT, TIE NBA RECORD TO OPEN SEASON… The Celtics notched their 10th straight win with a 105-100 come from behind victory over the Warriors on Nov. 15…This was their tenth straight win after they had lost the opening night game of the season…According to STATS, the Celtics are just the second team in NBA history to record 10 straight wins after losing their season opener joining the 1979-80 Milwaukee Bucks.

BIG NIGHT FOR HAYWARD IN CLEVELAND… Gordon Hayward tied his career-high with 39 points to go along with seven boards and eight assists against Cleveland on Nov. 5…According to the Elias Sports Bureau Hayward was the first player in the NBA this season to score 20 or more points during a single half on 100% shooting (22P, 9-9 FG in first half)…On the night Hayward finished a perfect 16-for-16 on all of his two point attempts which tied Wilt Chamberlain’s mark for most two-point field goal makes in a game without a miss.

WALKER RECORDED 30+ POINTS, 6+ REBOUNDS AND 4+ ASSISTS IN THREE STRAIGHT… Kemba Walker recorded 33 points, six rebounds and five assists in the close victory over the Knicks on Nov. 1…It marked the third consecutive game that Walker recorded 30 or more points, six or more rebounds and four or more assists…In doing so against the Knicks he became the first Celtic to record those numbers in three straight games since Paul Pierce accomplished the feat in three straight games during the 2002 season (Nov. 22-27).

TATUM RECORDS 20 PTS, 10 REBS IN OPENER… Jayson Tatum recorded 21 points and a team-high 10 rebounds against Philadelphia in the opening game of the 2019-20 season on Oct. 23…It marked just the 30th time in franchise history that a Celtic had recorded at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in the opening game of the season and the first since Brandon Bass recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds against New York on Dec. 25, 2011.

Gordon Hayward Believes New Foot Issue Related To Original Leg Injury — NESN.com

Gordon Hayward apparently still is feeling the effects of the gruesome leg injury he suffered 26 months ago. The Boston Celtics forward has missed the last three games with a sore left foot — the same foot that was pointing in the wrong direction that infamous October night in Cleveland. And while Hayward is probable…
Gordon Hayward Believes New Foot Issue Related To Original Leg Injury — NESN.com

Celtics’ Marcus Smart Out Vs. Raptors; Tremont Waters Summoned From G League — NESN.com

Marcus Smart is nearing a return, but he still is battling a seriously nasty eye infection. Smart will not play Christmas Day against the Toronto Raptors, the Celtics announced Tuesday afternoon. The fiery guard has missed Boston’s last six games primarily due to the eye infection, but other ailments also have contributed to keeping Smart…
Celtics’ Marcus Smart Out Vs. Raptors; Tremont Waters Summoned From G League — NESN.com

Celtics’ Kanter thanks Trudeau for chance to play in Canada — Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter says he will be able to play in his team’s Christmas Day game in Toronto against the Raptors after discussionsRead More. …
Celtics’ Kanter thanks Trudeau for chance to play in Canada — Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

LEAFS 8, CANES 6 QUOTES: FREDERIK ANDERSEN: “(Marner is) smooth, he skates like the wind and then I think he sees the ice as good as anyone in the League. You combine that with the good hands and he’s just a playmaker out there. He can create free space for himself and the guys he plays with are good to help him out as well. He finds open space really well and, you saw today, he’s a special player.”

HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE

Opening Remarks:

Well, everything went exactly as planned so there’s not a lot to talk about.

On today’s game:

Just lots of emotions in the game, obviously. From our start, you’re feeling great. Then it gets away on you and you start to come back in the third and you give it up again. Lots of emotions, but obviously, we really like how our team stays with it and finds a way and everybody goes home happy.

On if the result makes up for some of the mistakes made:

Yeah, it does. We need wins and we need points. Because of the way things go there — you give up the lead and the nature of some of the goals, you don’t feel great about them — but we can’t forget about the good things that we did. We scored seven plus an empty netter. We had a terrific start against a very good team that we knew was going to come — in fact, getting a lead like that probably was not the greatest thing for us in terms of our mindset playing against a team that is so hard to play against. I think it’s part of our growth here in trying to figure things out. That’s partially the reason why I didn’t call a timeout in that second period. I just thought this is a good time for our team to sort themselves out here and see if we can. Whether we did or not, I don’t really know in that second period, but we found a way. Our best players made big time plays.

On how he felt during the three consecutive goals in the third period:

I do a pretty good job of keeping things inside. I’ve been through a lot of these types of games and a lot of different things as a coach at various levels. I try not to get too caught up in it, but it was pretty fun to watch how quickly things changed and how our team responded to that.

On where he evaluates the Matthews and Marner pairing on a line:

I would say we’re still kind of in the experiment stage. In fact, we talked about it after the second period whether we should switch back and decided not to, obviously. It worked out. How it works out long term — it’s not necessarily just how that goes, but how things underneath them go. We’ll have a look at all of that.

On why he stuck with it through two periods:

We just felt that there’s potential there. Something could spark itself and get going. We also looked at the fact that — we just thought there were mistakes made at key times that ended up in our net that weren’t necessarily a sign that the lines weren’t working. I thought there were a number of good things happening through the game, we just had to get rid of the egregious mistake and how we were going to solve them in the neutral zone. I thought that we’d have a chance.

On if he thinks there’s a future for Matthews and Marner as a pairing long-term:

It makes sense to me in a lot of ways in terms of the way one sees the ice and passes and the way one finishes. But we also have a good line — Mitch and [Hyman] were very successful with John there as well. We have to weigh that and, again, it has a lot to do with how things fall into place underneath them as well. We’ll have to look at that. I think if I’ve shown anything in the early going here it’s that I’m not going to stick with anything for too long.

On the Next Gen Game:

I thought the game was outstanding. I think the whole concept behind it is outstanding. I think if we didn’t make a next generation of fans here today, I’m not sure we ever will with everything that was at play. I thought it was great, the kids on the bench were cool, the interviews before the game, it’s awesome and it’s nice to be a part of that.

On what he has seen from the group to this point and what needs to be worked on:

What we’ve seen is that we have good players and we have good depth and we have the ability to set ourselves up to win games. What we have to work at is just dealing with playing with that lead. Playing with the lead is a big thing for us and what you saw today is just – we want to be a team that controls the puck and controls the play. At times you’re going to face teams or situations where you need to change your decision-making, you need to go quicker, you need to get things through the neutral zone fast. Feeling our way through that. I had a sense that at some point it was going to go bad for us and when it goes bad and you’re trying to play like that, it looks bad like it did today. But we still see lots of positives in there that will help us along the way. The other thing I talked to our team about in the third period is just that we haven’t played from behind very much here in quite a while. We were just talking about kind of enjoy that, enjoy playing from behind, have fun with that, let’s see what we can do here. That’s part of the growth as well.

On the decision to start Spezza in the opening lineup:

To be honest, the biggest thing was I had a sense here frankly that with the next generation game and it being a two o’clock start that he would have his girls in the building so a chance to give him a little moment there and it worked out for us.

On the status of Trevor Moore:

Yeah, he reported not feeling well, much like he did the other day. We thought everything was good, but he just did not feel like himself, so we pulled him out for today. We’ll give him some time over the break to see how that progresses.

On what he liked about the Spezza-Tavares combination in the third period:

I just thought that we’re trying to restart ourselves in the third period and kind of get going so I just went back to that same start but then we’re playing from behind and I like Jason’s ability to play up in the lineup and make a play at an important time. Obviously, he’s got a lot of experience and I think those are the types of things that can help us. Because of his ability I don’t hesitate to give him an opportunity to start the game.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN (35 SAVES)

On what was needed to keep battling after the second period:

Of course, just a short memory, I think, is the most important thing. Obviously, a bit of an emotional roller coaster today. We stuck with it then, like I said, we come out really good in the third even though they regained their two-goal lead. We just said, ‘Screw it, we’ll play the last 10 and give it our all.’ The guys were unbelievable.

On if it was the craziest game he has been a part of:

Probably, yeah. I don’t really have anything that could top that off the top of my head but definitely a wild one.

On what makes Marner so effective:

He’s smooth, he skates like the wind and then I think he sees the ice as good as anyone in the League. You combine that with the good hands and he’s just a playmaker out there. He can create free space for himself and the guys he plays with are good to help him out as well. He finds open space really well and, you saw today, he’s a special player.

MITCH MARNER (2 GOALS, 3 ASSISTS)

On if he believes in Toronto Raptor karma following their historic comeback victory yesterday:

I actually didn’t think of that but that comeback from them was amazing yesterday. It was the same kind of afternoon game. I think both teams have confidence in their players and their ability to do what they can. I think both teams stuck to the system and believed they could get it done and they both did.

On Auston’s backhand pass in the third period:

That’s a hell of a play by him, a hell of a pass. I kind of knew — I thought he was going to try something like that and get it over to me. We talked about trying to find that other side of the ice, so as soon as I saw him try the spin-o-rama I thought he was going to sling it over to me. Great pass, great vision and I was lucky enough to put it in.

AUSTON MATTHEWS (1 GOAL, 1 ASSIST)

On tonight’s game:

Yeah, I think it was just a roller coaster. A bit of a run and gun kind of game and I think the third period, we just came in, stayed positive here after the second no matter what the score was and went out there and played. Got one early and then just kind of let the momentum roll over.

On how the team maintained its composure after the second period:

I think it helps when you’ve got guys in here with experience like [Spezza], [Muzzin], guys that have obviously gone through a lot in their careers. I think they kind of keep the team levelheaded whether we’re playing really well or not playing well at all. I think, you know, we held each other accountable today, keep each other in check and then obviously, you know, in the third period we had some fun, I guess.

JOHN TAVARES (1 GOAL, 2 ASSISTS)

On the team finding a way to win:

Yeah, I think, no question. A lot of ebbs in flow. A lot of swings in momentum. I think just great job, great resolve by the group. Outstanding. It shows our talent and our depth, the plays we were able to make. Guys just believe in themselves. I think it’s huge. But I think when we move forward, I think we know a lot of tonight wasn’t the recipe for success in the long term. You’ve got to find ways to win. It’s not always pretty. Certainly, I think we owe Fred [Andersen] a lot better than we were in front of him today.

On Keefe’s willingness to shuffle the lines to spark offence:

Yeah, he’s trying to do what’s best for the team and get us to play the best we can and get the results we need. So I think we all have a lot of trust in him and believe he’s doing the best thing for the team. So, as a player, you just try to go out there and do your job.

MAPLE LEAFS 8, HURRICANES 6 NOTES: Mitch Marner had his third multi-goal game, his seventh multi-assist game and his 10th multi-point game of the season. He has 17 assists in 16 games on home ice this season. Marner tied his career-high for goals (2 – 7x), assists (3 – 12x) and points (5 – 2x).

CAROLINA HURRICANES (22-13-2 – 46 Points) vs.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (20-14-4 – 44 Points)

MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2019

	1	2	3	OT	FINAL
CAROLINA	2	3	1	–	6
TORONTO	3	0	5	–	8

GAME SUMMARY | EVENT SUMMARY | FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

Jason Spezza opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs at 0:30 of the first period and later registered the primary assist on John Tavares’ first period goal. Spezza’s goal is the fastest goal to open a game by the Maple Leafs this season (Previous: 0:40; Oct. 29, 2019 vs WSH (Johnsson)). Tonight’s game is his third multi-point performance of the season. The goal is his first on home ice.
William Nylander scored Toronto’s second goal of the game on the power play at 3:40 of the first period. Nylander has five points (3-2-5) over his last three games played. He has 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) in 11 games against Metropolitan Division teams in 2019-20.
John Tavares registered the primary assist on Spezza’s first period goal and the primary assist on Nylander’s second period goal before scoring the third Maple Leafs goal of the night on the power play at 5:10 of the first period. Today’s game is Tavares’ second multi-assist and 10th multi-point game of the season. He has nine points (4 goals, 5 assists) in 10 games during the month of December.
Auston Matthews scored the fourth Toronto goal of the game at 2:35 of the third period and later registered the primary assist on Mitch Marner’s first third period goal. Matthews has points (5-4-9) in four consecutive games. Tonight’s game is Matthews’ 14th multi-point game of the season. In 18 games on home ice this season, he has recorded 28 points (18 goals, 10 assists). He is tied for the NHL lead in even-strength goals (18).
Mitch Marner had the secondary assist on Nylander’s first period goal and later had the secondary assist on Matthews’ third period goal. Marner scored the fifth Maple Leaf goal of the night at 11:01 of the third period before recording the primary assist on Tyson Barrie’s third period goal. He added the seventh Maple Leaf goal of the game at 12:00 of the third period. Marner has points (6-11-15) in eight consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his third multi-goal game, his seventh multi-assist game and his 10th multi-point game of the season. He has 17 assists in 16 games on home ice this season. Marner tied his career-high for goals (2 – 7x), assists (3 – 12x) and points (5 – 2x).
Tyson Barrie collected the secondary assist on Marner’s first goal in the third period before scoring the sixth Toronto goal of the game at 11:54 of the third period. Tonight’s game is his sixth multi-point game of the season. Barrie’s goal is his first on home ice this season. He has five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 10 games during the month of December.
Pierre Engvall scored the eighth Toronto goal of the game into an empty net at 18:20 of the third period. Engvall has four points (2-2-4) over his last five games played. The Maple Leafs are 6-0-0 when Engvall records a point this season.
Ilya Mikheyev collected the secondary assist on Spezza’s first period goal. Mikheyev has five points (3 goals, 2 assists) over his last four games played. He has 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists) in 24 games against Eastern Conference opponents.
Alex Kerfoot picked up the secondary assist on Tavares’ first period goal. Kerfoot has four points (1-3-4) over his last five games played.
Zach Hyman registered the primary assist on Matthews’ third period goal and later had the secondary assist on Barrie’s third period goal before collecting the lone assist on Engvall’s third period goal. Hyman has points (2-4-6) in two consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his first multi-assist and third multi-point game of the season. His three assists establish a new career-high for assists in a game and tie his career-high for points in a game (3x).
Frederik Andersen stopped 35 shots to earn his 19th win of the season.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
CAROLINA	16 (11)	14 (9)	11 (9)	–	41 (29)
TORONTO	12 (10)	8 (6)	19 (18)	–	39 (34)

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
CAROLINA	23 (16)	25 (17)	18 (11)	–	66 (44)
TORONTO	20 (15)	18 (15)	25 (24)	–	63 (54)

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Record at Home	10-4-4 (18 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Carolina	47-58-11-7 (123 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Carolina at Home:	24-31-5-2 (62 Games)
Record vs. Eastern Conference	11-9-4 (24 Games)
Record vs. Metropolitan Division	4-4-3 (11 Games)
Attendance	19,176

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

Shots	4 (Barrie, Marner, Tavares)
Shot Attempts	8 (Marner)
Faceoff Wins	13 (Tavares)
Faceoff Win Percentage	68% (Tavares – 13 won, 6 lost)
Hits	2 (Muzzin)
Blocked Shots	3 (Muzzin)
Takeaways	2 (Marner, Matthews, Spezza)
TOI	24:36 (Marner)
Power Play TOI	4:55 (Nylander, Tavares)
Shorthanded TOI	4:21 (Ceci)
Shifts	29 (Rielly)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage	66.7% (Ceci – 18 for, 9 against)

RECORD WHEN…

Scoring first	13-3-1
Leading after 1	9-2-1
Trail after 2	1-8-1
Score multiple power play goals	4-1-0
Allow one power play goal	8-6-3
Outshot by opponent	10-9-3
Monday	1-1-1

OF NOTE…

The Maple Leafs went 1-for-1 on the penalty kill and went 1-for-2 on the power play tonight.
The Maple Leafs established new season-highs for goals scored (8) and goals in a period (5 – 3rd period) in tonight’s game.
Toronto scored three goals in the span of 0:59 (Marner, Barrie, Marner) during the third period of tonight’s game, which is the fastest three goals scored by the team this season (Previous: 4:59,
Oct. 25, 2019 vs SJS (Rielly, Mikheyev, Matthews)).
The Maple Leafs scored two goals in 0:06 (Barrie, Marner) during the third period of tonight’s game, which is the pair of goals scored by the club this season (Previous: 0:18, Oct. 25, 2019 vs SJS (Mikheyev, Matthews)).
Frederik Gauthier and Dmytro Timashov were the lone Maple Leafs to not start a 5-on-5 shift in the offensive zone.
Morgan Rielly was on the ice for a team-high 26 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5 tonight. Rielly finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 49.1 percent (26 for, 27 against).
John Tavares won 71 percent (5 won, 2 lost) of his offensive zone faceoffs.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Friday, December 27, 7:00 p.m. at New Jersey Devils (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)
Saturday, December 28, 7:00 p.m. vs. New York Rangers (Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590 The FAN)
Tuesday, December 31, 6:00 p.m. at Minnesota Wild (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)
Thursday, January 2, 8:00 p.m. at Winnipeg Jets (TSN4, FAN 590)
Saturday, January 4, 7:00 p.m. vs. New York Islanders (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)

Whicker: Without a Plan B, Dodgers might rue the day they lost Hyun-Jin Ryu — Press Telegram

Criticized for their reluctance to sign someone else’s players, the Dodgers decided not to sign one of their own. That’ll show ’em. Hyun-Jin Ryu looked like a Dodger-for-life. He was the most famous Korean in a county that, in the 2010 census, had more than 230,000. He also was the best National League pitcher this…
Whicker: Without a Plan B, Dodgers might rue the day they lost Hyun-Jin Ryu — Press Telegram

HURRICANES AT MAPLE LEAFS PREGAME NOTES: Andersen is 8-4-3 at home this season with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. – Has made 10 career appearances against the Hurricanes and is 6-3-0 with a 2.89 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.- Leads the NHL in wins (18).- Third in the NHL in saves (823) and second in even-strength saves (694).- Tied for third in the NHL in shootout saves (11).

CAROLINA HURRICANES (22-12-2 – 46 Points) vs.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (19-14-4 – 42 Points)

DECEMBER 23, 2019 ▪ 2:00 PM EST

SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO, ON) ▪
TV: SPORTSNET ONTARIO ▪ RADIO: SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN

MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY versus CAROLINA

ALL-TIME RECORD:	46-58-11-7 (122 Games)
ALL-TIME AT HOME:	23-31-5-2 (61 Games)
2018-19:	1-2-0
LAST FIVE:	3-2-0
LAST 10:	6-4-0

MAPLE LEAFS CAREER LEADERS versus CAROLINA

GAMES PLAYED:	Jason Spezza (42), John Tavares (37), Morgan Rielly (18)
GOALS:	John Tavares (25), Jason Spezza (19), Tyson Barrie (3), Cody Ceci (3)
ASSISTS:	Jason Spezza (21), John Tavares (19), Morgan Rielly (6)
POINTS:	John Tavares (44), Jason Spezza (40), Morgan Rielly (8)
PENALTY MINUTES:	John Tavares (26), Jason Spezza (20), Three players tied (6)

MAPLE LEAFS – HURRICANES TEAM STATS

	TORONTO	CAROLINA
GOALS FOR (Rank):	124 (3rd)	116 (t-10th)
GOALS AGAINST (Rank):	114 (t-21st)	94 (t-3rd)
POWER PLAY [%] (Rank):	21/100 [21.0%] (13th)	27/113 [23.8%] (5th)
PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank):	84/110 [76.3%] (26th)	110/130 [84.6%] (4th)
SHOTS (Rank):	1232 (4th)	1219 (5th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank):	1881 (t-1st)	1725 (6th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank):	52.7% (5th)	55.3% (1st)
FACEOFF % (Rank):	52.4% (t-3rd)	50.2% (16th)

MAPLE LEAFS – HURRICANES NOTES

FIRST MATCHUP BETWEEN CLUBS:	October 31, 1979 vs. Hartford (Hartford 4, Toronto 2)
ALL-TIME RECORD:	46-58-11-7 (122 Games)
ALL-TIME RECORD AT HOME:	23-31-5-2 (61 Games)
ALL-TIME RECORD ON THE ROAD:	23-27-6-5 (61 Games)
LAST WIN VS. OPPONENT AT HOME:	December 19, 2017 (Toronto 8, Carolina 1)

MAPLE LEAFS MILESTONES vs. HURRICANES

Frederik Andersen	Originally selected by Carolina in the seventh round (187th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. 200th NHL game (Oct. 26, 2017 vs. CAR)
Travis Dermott	100th NHL game (April 2, 2019 vs. CAR)
John Tavares	700th NHL game (Dec. 11, 2018 at CAR)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER
GOALS	23 (Matthews)
ASSISTS	22 (Marner)
POINTS	41 (Matthews)
POWER PLAY POINTS	12 (Matthews)
SHORTHANDED POINTS	2 (Engvall, Kapanen)
PIMs	30 (Muzzin)
SHOTS	135 (Matthews)
FACEOFF WIN%	59.3% (Gauthier)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %	55.4% (Matthews, Nylander)
BLOCKED SHOTS	63 (Muzzin)
TAKEAWAYS	39 (Marner)
HITS	84 (Muzzin)
TOI PER GAME	24:23 (Rielly)
PP TOI PER GAME	2:53 (Marner)
SH TOI PER GAME	3:06 (Ceci)

MAPLE LEAFS PLAYER NOTES

Frederik Andersen	– Is 8-4-3 at home this season with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. – Has made 10 career appearances against the Hurricanes and is 6-3-0 with a 2.89 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.- Leads the NHL in wins (18).- Third in the NHL in saves (823) and second in even-strength saves (694).- Tied for third in the NHL in shootout saves (11).
Tyson Barrie	– Averaging 14.3 shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time, which is the seventh-highest average among NHL defencemen who have appeared in 30 games. – Has been on the ice for the sixth-most shot attempts for (715) among NHL skaters. – Has an on-ice shot attempt differential of plus-124, which is eighth among NHL defencemen.
Cody Ceci	– Has an on-ice goal differential of plus-eight at even-strength, which is tied for the second highest even-strength goal differential among Toronto skaters.- Ninth among NHL skaters in shorthanded time on ice (114:39).- Has played 61.7 percent of Toronto’s shorthanded ice time, which is tied for the 11th-highest shorthanded time on ice percentage among NHLers who have appeared in at least 30 games.
Justin Holl	– Has started his 44.7 percent of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which is the lowest mark among Toronto defencemen who have appeared in at least 10 games.- Has an unblocked shot attempt percentage of 53.0 percent at 5-on-5, which is the second-highest percentage among Toronto defencemen who have appeared in at least 10 games.
Michael Hutchinson	– Fourth among NHL goaltenders who have appeared in 10 or fewer games in saves (226).
Zach Hyman	– Tied his career-high for points in a game with three (2-1-3) on December 21 vs. Detroit – Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 53.7 percent, which ranks ninth among Toronto skaters who have played 10 games. – Averaging 15:30 per game in even-strength ice time, which ranks seventh among Maple Leafs.
Kasperi Kapanen	– Seventh among Toronto skaters in even-strength points (6-8-14).- Has played 35.9 percent of the Maple Leafs’ shorthanded ice time, which ranks fourth among Toronto forwards.
Alex Kerfoot	– Seventh among Toronto skaters in even-strength goals (5).- Lone Toronto forward to have recorded at least 20 hits (28) and 20 blocked shots (23) this season.
Mitch Marner	– Averaging 0.54 primary assists per game, which is tied for eighth among NHLers who have appeared in at least 20 games.- Tied for 15th in the NHL in primary assists (14). – Third in the NHL in takeaways (39). Averages 4.43 takeaways per 60 minutes of ice time, which ranks second among NHLers who have skated in at least 20 games.- Ninth among NHL forwards in shifts per game (25.5).
Auston Matthews	– Third among NHL skaters in goals (23).- Second among NHL skaters in even-strength goals (17).- 11th among NHL skaters in even-strength points (17-12-29).- Tied for eighth in the NHL with 135 shots on goal.- Has an on-ice goals-for percentage of 61.4 percent at 5-on-5, which is second among Toronto skaters.
Ilya Mikheyev	– Averaging 9.1 shots on goal per 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time, which is the fourth-highest average among NHLers who have played at least 60 shorthanded minutes.- Leads all NHL rookies in shorthanded ice time (72:22).- Leads NHL rookies and is third among Maple Leafs in even-strength points (6-14-20).
Jake Muzzin	– Has drawn nine penalties this season, which leads Toronto defencemen and is tied for ninth among NHL defencemen.- Averages 0:47 in ice time per shift, which is tied for the fourth-lowest average shift length among defencemen who average at least 21:00 per game in ice time.
William Nylander	– Has recorded nine primary assists, which is tied for fourth among Toronto skaters. – Averages 2.23 points per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which ranks fifth among Maple Leafs skaters.- Has recorded five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in eight career games against Carolina.
Morgan Rielly	– Tied for 16th among NHL defencemen in points (3-21-24).- Tied for eighth among NHL defencemen in even-strength points (3-15-18).- Fourth among NHL defencemen in assists recorded at 5-on-5 (14).- Tied for 13th among NHL skaters in TOI per game (24:23).- Tied for 11th among NHL skaters in shifts per game (28.4).
Jason Spezza	– Averaging 2.37 points per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5 this season, which is tied for third Toronto skaters.- Averaging 1.31 primary assists per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time in 2019-20, which leads the Maple Leafs and is the seventh-highest average among NHLers who have appeared in at least 20 games.
John Tavares	– Has 44 points (25 goals, 19 assists) in 37 career games against Carolina, which is the third-highest point total against the Hurricanes since 2009-10.- Averaging 16.98 shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which is the fourth-highest average among NHL centres who have appeared in 20 games.- Averaging 8.88 shots on goal at 5-on-5 per 60 minutes of ice time, which ranks 16th among NHL centres who have appeared in 20 games.- Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 54.9 percent, which ranks fourth among Toronto skaters who have appeared in at least 20 games.

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

Mitch Marner	Has points (4-8-12) in seven consecutive games.
Auston Matthews	Has assists (3) in two consecutive games and points (4-3-7) in three consecutive games.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

Alex Kerfoot

Three points from 100 NHL points

RECENT MILESTONES

None

INJURY REPORT

Andreas Johnsson (Leg)	On injured reserve.
	Man Games Lost: 75

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

December 21	Loaned forward Adam Brooks and defenceman Martin Marincin to the Toronto Marlies (AHL). Activated forward Trevor Moore from the injured reserve.
December 19	Recalled forward Adam Brooks and defenceman Martin Marincin from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an emergency basis.
December 18	Loaned forward Adam Brooks and defencemen Timothy Liljegren and Martin Marincin to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
December 17	Recalled forward Adam Brooks from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an emergency basis.
December 16	Recalled defencemen Timothy Liljegren and Martin Marincin from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Wizards’ Isaiah Thomas suspended two games for entering stands, 76ers fans banned for a year — Daily Republic

By Candace Buckner, The Washington Post PHILADELPHIA — The NBA issued a two-game suspension to Washington Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas for entering the stands to confront fans in Philadelphia, the league announced Sunday night. The two 76ers fans who made obscene gestures and directed profanities at Thomas during Saturday night’s game, causing the player to […]
Wizards’ Isaiah Thomas suspended two games for entering stands, 76ers fans banned for a year — Daily Republic

Whicker: How many ways to miss LeBron James? Lakers counted them in Denver loss — Daily News

Los Angeles Lakers injured guard LeBron James cheers his team during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019, in Los Angeles. The Nuggets won 128-104. James sat out the game because of a thoracic muscle strain. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker) Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony…
Whicker: How many ways to miss LeBron James? Lakers counted them in Denver loss — Daily News

RAPTORS 110, MAVERICKS 107 QUOTES: RICK CARLISLE: “It’s pretty clear what happened and it’s an aggression thing. Give them credit, give their fans credit, they kept a lot of energy going. But when you get hit with that kind of force you’ve got to respond with equal or greater force, and we just didn’t do it soon enough.” TIM HARDAWAY JR.: “They played hard and their bench guys, (Rondae) Hollis-Jefferson and (Chris) Boucher, and all those guys did a phenomenal job of coming in and giving them that spark. Hats off to them.”

(19-10) DALLAS MAVERICKS, 107 VS. (21-8) TORONTO RAPTORS, 110 SCOTIABANK ARENA SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2019

TORONTO RAPTORS QUOTES

NICK NURSE (HEAD COACH)

On Kyle Lowry in the fourth quarter … He was unbelievable and he really didn’t have a good game going until that point. He started firing, making and driving and and-oneing, he was doing it all. I am not sure I have seen anything like it.

On the swarming, trapping defence in the fourth quarter… We stayed with it a long time, we probably called it off a little bit early, to honest with you. There wasn’t really any reason, I think they had one quick dunk out of it, early on it, right when we got in it. They were pulling back so we really were at no risk to try and steal in the backcourt, because when they crossed they were waiting for us to get re-matched up anyway. It is usually a (more) little short-lived than that though, normally.

On the length of Chris Boucher and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to run the press … They played with tremendous energy, I think, more than anything and when you are doing that, we just said anything but the rim. If the ball started heading to the rim, we wanted to swarm it and make them kick out and then try to do our best to get back out there. Other than I think it was the second possession, where they came down and dunked it, I think we did a good job. All the other ones were fouls that were almost good defensive plays at the rim anyway. Rondae and Chris, Rondae at the front and Chris at the back was a good combination there.

On why Kyle Lowry and the bench work so well … I think in that scenario, you know I am always talking about going through your primary guys first, and then those guys have to be opportunity scorers and I think that’s really what it turned into. Kyle makes the play, take the shot or find the cutter, or find the kick out or whatever. I think that just organizes you, they were all like, do your thing and we will chip in where we can and we had just enough cuts and Terence (Davis) makes a three, Rondae here, Chris on a tip in, just enough plays off of Kyle’s initial actions I think would be my answer to that.

On most teams shutting it down, being down 30 with a game tomorrow … I think I would say historically we have always been a team that fights. In my time here, we hardly ever mail it in and it is a good characteristic to have. That thought barely came into my head there, and I said ‘we are going to give it a go to start the fourth’. The game is too long and there have been a lot of leads this year that have disappeared on people. We do it sometimes ourselves, it happens so you might as well take a shot at it sometimes.

CHRIS BOUCHER (21 points, seven rebounds, four blocks)

What’s it like to be part of a game like that? It’s one of the craziest games I’ve ever been in. I’m still realizing we were down 30 and what we had to do to come back. I’m definitely going to go watch the game again, just to see how exciting this game was and how the fans helped us so much just cheering with us. We feel it down to the court.

At what point did you think the comeback was possible? I don’t know. Me and Rondae, we’re talking on the bench and he was saying how he just wants us to be a plus because we were at minus something. At this point all we could do was bring energy and try to get back to this game. Every time we kept chipping in, we were like let’s make another push and Nick Nurse did a good job of keeping us doing different defensive drills. The schemes were pretty good for us, especially me and Rondae. The way that we play, he really helped us out with that.

On the trust from Kyle Lowry… When somebody gets hurt, we all know that we have to step up and it’s easier when you have somebody like Kyle, that’s been there for years and always has a way to tell us what to do or what he needs from us and he was exceptional today, with all the plays he did and all the shots that he hit. A lot of people have been hard on him this year. We always had confidence in him and always knew he would lead us some way, somehow and today he just showed to everybody how he does it. For us it was a way to follow the leader and do what we are capable of doing to help the team.

TERENCE DAVIS II (nine points, five rebounds)

What was it like watching Kyle in the fourth quarter? It’s amazing. I kept telling him that he hit some big shots. Just staying in his ear and I mean he’s a vet, he’s a 14-year pro. That’s what he does.

KYLE LOWRY (32 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists)

Did you feel like you had to take control in the fourth? No, because I didn’t do it. We had a great team effort and Malcolm (Miller), Terence, Rondae, and Chris Boucher, I give them all the credit, they won that game for us. Malcolm got a few steals, TD hit some big threes, Chris with his deflections and shot blocks, Rondae with his putbacks and hustle effort. Give those guys the credit, seriously.

At what point did you think the comeback was possible? When he (Kristaps Porzingis) threw that last shot and he missed it. Honestly, that’s one of those games where you just can’t take anything for granted, because we used so much energy to get there. You just have to hold on until that last buzzer goes off and once that ball went sailing right, I was like wow, that was a fun game.

(19-10) DALLAS MAVERICKS, 107 VS. (21-8) TORONTO RAPTORS, 110 SCOTIABANK ARENA SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2019

DALLAS MAVERICKS QUOTES

RICK CARLISLE (HEAD COACH)

On tonight’s game… Very disappointing loss. I take full responsibility for it. We got to a point where we lost our aggression. Give them credit, they did a great job with the trap but we didn’t respond well enough to it, and that’s on me.

Was there a point in the comeback where you started to feel uncomfortable? I’ve told you what I’m going to tell you about it. It’s pretty clear what happened and it’s an aggression thing. Give them credit, give their fans credit, they kept a lot of energy going. But when you get hit with that kind of force you’ve got to respond with equal or greater force, and we just didn’t do it soon enough. I liked the way we got it back together at the end, gave ourselves a chance, had a shot to probably win the game. It’s a disappointing loss and we got to learn from it.

On the recent rough schedule and coming out of it in pretty good shape… We’re not looking to be a little better than expected; we’re looking to do exceptional things. So that’s why this is really disappointing. We’ll learn from it. I don’t know that we’ll see a situation quite like this – Toronto’s unique with the guys they can put out there, the speed and this part of what they do. There’s always things to learn from difficult situations and that’s what we’ll do.

DWIGHT POWELL (17 points, nine rebounds)

How tough is a loss like this after so much momentum coming into tonight’s game? It’s really tough. Hopefully we can learn something from it and not let it be for nothing.

What did you see defensively from Toronto in the fourth quarter? They picked up the intensity, they pressed full court. They did a good job of getting us to throw ill-timed passes and getting in the lanes. They turned us over a little bit. They also executed well on offense. They got to the free throw line and knocked down a lot of their shots.

What went wrong for the Mavericks? We didn’t defend to the level that we needed to in that period of time. They made some tough plays, but we obviously needed to make some more stops during that stretch while they were making their run because we weren’t able to execute as well as we wanted to offensively.

On the Toronto press… We work on it. It’s part of the game. Whether it’s done in long stretches or not, I think every team has a press. Every team has the ability to put players out there who can get in the passing lanes, so that’s something we prepare for. We just didn’t execute well in that situation tonight.

How do you feel overall about how the team played tonight? I think we have look at the film and learn from this game. This is a great team and they have some great players and they definitely proved that tonight. We need to figure out a way to maintain the good things that we have been doing through 48 minutes.

TIM HARDAWAY JR. (16 points, eight rebounds, five assists)

Does today take away at all from what the team has accomplished recently? I think today was actually the best thing that could’ve happened to us. It’s a tough loss, being up as much as 28 or 30, but it shows that whenever you’re up that much you can’t let up. You can’t back down from the competition. You can’t ease yourself into the win because the game isn’t even over yet. I think that moving forward this will put an anger and a killer instinct mentality even more into our guys. We’re going to move on from this, learn from this. I think this is the best thing that could happen to us, especially earlier on in the season.

What was it about their press that bothered the team so much? Just like when we go into the zone and the other teams get tentative, I think that’s what happened to us. We didn’t attack it like we should have. It helps when they’re making baskets and the crowd is getting into it, the court starts to shake a little bit, so it gets pretty intense. Most importantly, we have to learn from this. We have a young group of guys. Like I said, I’m happy it happened early on in the season more so than later on in the season when we will be fighting for our lives. I’m happy if we learn from it and move on.

Rick Carlisle said, “it’s on me” and he said he told you guys that. Do you buy into that? No, no. BS. BS, man. It’s not on him at all. It’s all on us. We’re going to take it on the chin, move on from it. It should leave a sour taste in our mouth moving forward cause we know we should’ve had the win, but we have to credit them. They never stopped playing. They played hard and their bench guys, (Rondae) Hollis-Jefferson and (Chris) Boucher, and all those guys did a phenomenal job of coming in and giving them that spark. Hats off to them.

KRISTAPS PORZINGIS (19 points, 12 rebounds)

What can you learn from that fourth quarter and improve? Maybe that we folded a little bit under pressure. That zone defence that they did maybe caught us off guard a little bit, but it was really good. They have long guys. They got the crowd into it, high energy, got a few steals, got a few buckets and I don’t know what happened. It’s kind of weird. It is what it is.

What got you the lead after a slow start? Just playing our game. We didn’t really do anything special, just played our game. We played good defence, got out, got some shots. We got ourselves into the game. We did what we do. Then we didn’t react the right way to their pressure and their energy. That was it. They made their huge run and we didn’t respond.

Are you surprised that you didn’t respond? Every game is different. Tonight was a weird, weird game, honestly. I still can’t process what happened.

What was so weird about their zone? It was good. Honestly, it was good. We were on our heels a little bit. Against an aggressive zone like that your mindset has to be attack first, don’t take your time. You also have to stay aggressive. We got a hit a little bit and then were like, “I don’t want to make a mistake. I don’t want to rush it or turn the ball over.” That got us out of our rhythm a little bit and it took too long for us to start playing better against it. With five minutes left they’re already back in the game. At the end of the game it could’ve gone either way. It’s a championship-level team. They know how to play. They have experience and they were able to close the game.

RAPTORS 110, MAVERICKS 107 POSTGAME NOTES: A record 47-point fourth quarter leads to the biggest comeback win in team history.

FINAL SCORE: TORONTO RAPTORS 110, DALLAS MAVERICKS 107

DATE: DECEMBER 22, 2019 ATTENDANCE: 19,800 (Sellout).

FINAL SCORE RECORD HIGH POINTS HIGH REBOUNDS HIGH ASSISTS

Dallas 107 19-10 Brunson – 21 Porzingis – 12 Brunson – 9

Toronto 110 21-8 Lowry – 32 Hollis-Jefferson – 9 Lowry – 10

KEY RUN Trailing 86-63 after three quarter, Toronto outscored Dallas 47-21 in the fourth quarter … The Raptors shot 56 per cent (14-for-25) from the floor in the frame, including 6-for-11 (.545) from three-point range … Kyle Lowry scored 20 of his game-high 32 points in the final quarter.

KEY STAT Tonight marked the largest comeback victory in Raptors franchise history … Toronto trailed by as many as 30 point late in the third quarter, before outscoring Dallas 47-21 in the fourth quarter … The Raptors’ 47 points were also a franchise record for the fourth quarter.

RAPTORS NOTES: • With the win, Toronto improves to 21-8 this season and 13-3 at home … The Raptors have won five in a row (Dec. 14-22), including four straight games at Scotiabank Arena … Toronto is now 7-4 in the month of December. • Toronto and Dallas split the season-series for the second time in the last three seasons … The Raptors have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams. • The Raptors’ bench outscored Dallas’ reserves 48-20. • Toronto is the first team since Sacramento (Dec. 21, 2009 vs. Chicago) to have a 30-point comeback. • Kyle Lowry led the Raptors in scoring for the second straight game with 32 points – his second 30- point outing this season … Lowry added eight rebounds and 10 assists in 42 minutes for his fourth double-double on the year and third in the last four games (Dec. 16-20). • Chris Boucher recorded a career-high 21 points (6-12 FG, 9-12 FT) and seven rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench … Boucher scored in double digits for the seventh time this season. • Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored a season-high 18 points in 29 minutes as a reserve … Hollis-Jefferson scored in double figures for the second straight game and ninth time this season … Hollis-Jefferson is averaging 16.0 points off the bench over the last two games (Dec. 20-22). • The Raptors had four players score double figures – Lowry (32), Boucher (21), Hollis-Jefferson (18) and Fred VanVleet (10). • Rookie Terence Davis ll is the only Raptor not to miss a game this season.

MAVERICKS NOTES: • With the loss, Dallas falls to 19-10 on the season and 11-3 on the road … The defeat ends the Mavericks’ seven game winning streak on the road (Nov. 24 – Dec. 20). • All five starters scored in double figures for Dallas, combining for 87 points. • The Mavericks had five players score in double digits – Brunson (21), Kristaps Porzingis (19), Dwight Powell (17), Tim Hardaway Jr. (16), Dorian Finney-Smith (14). = 2019-20 SEASON-SERIES ALL-TIME RECO