(Toronto) Fred VanVleet had just two 3-pointers but the last of those was crucial for the Raptors on Tuesday.
Posted yesterday at 10:33 p.m.
That shot made Toronto 108-103 with 1:03 on the clock. The club held on and prevailed 118-108 against the Atlanta Hawks, thereby securing a playoff spot.
“It’s a good thing to skip the qualifying tournament, we’re talking about six days of rest, more or less,” said VanVleet.
“It’s exciting to be in the playoffs. I look forward to the challenge it represents. If we really get going, we can do serious damage. »
Fifth in the East, the Raptors (46-33) have won six of their last seven games.
“We’ve built an identity that is (first and foremost) about playing hard,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. We’ve had enough wins to get to this point (a playoff berth). »
Pascal Siakam continued to shine with 31 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
Scottie Barnes had 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Montreal’s Chris Boucher went 3-for-5 in long shots, finishing the game with 18 points.
Gary Trent had 14 points, two more than VanVleet. The latter was 2 for 12 for shots from three points, but he dominated his team with nine assists.
OG Anunoby was missing, the result of a bruise on the back of his right thigh.
Toronto will host the Sixers on Thursday and the Rockets on Friday. The club will then wrap up the regular season Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
Atlanta led 31-27 after one quarter, thanks in part to an 11-0 surge.
Tenacious Raptors, however, managed to lead 56-52 at the half. This, despite missing their first 12 three-point shots. Their first of its kind came 1:10 from the end of the second quarter.
Backup Thad Young contributed to the effort with two baskets coming from offensive rebounds in short order, the latter giving the crowd favorites a 49-42 lead.
The second quarter ended on a high note for Toronto, when Montreal’s Khem Birch closed the door to Trae Young.
VanVleet made his other three-point shot early in the third quarter. After 36 minutes, the Raptors were leading 89-83.
In the last quarter, Boucher quickly made two shots from beyond the perimeter, helping his team lead 95-85. After a similar success from Barnes, the cushion went to 102-92.
Atlanta fought well and created the stalemate, taking advantage of Toronto missing the target 10 straight times. But Barnes made the Raptors 105-103 via an offensive rebound, after an inaccurate shot from Precious Achiuwa.
Bogdan Bogdanovic then missed a long shot and then VanVleet delivered the goods by hitting the target.
“That shot was huge,” Nurse said.
“I knew I had one shot left in the tank,” added VanVleet. I only hoped to pass it in time. »
The group headed for another win under the sign of determination and opportunism, from several sources.
Barnes grabbed six offensive rebounds, Young five.
“Me and Precious bring the same kind of energy, even though he has more physicality and I have more speed,” Boucher said. Thad, he plays the little games and he makes sure we stay focused.
“We have a lot of elements that play an important role, even if it doesn’t always show on the stats sheet. »
The Queen City club had the advantage 60-43 in rebounds and 62-42 in points in the bottle.
For the Hawks, Young had 26 points, five more than Kevin Huerter, who had five 3-pointers.
The visitors had won five games in a row.
The Hawks were without their second pointer John Collins, injured in the right ring finger and right foot.
They also played without Danilo Gallinari, injured in his left knee.