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SACRAMENTO — In the handicapper's exercise of should-win, should-lose, Sunday night's game in Sacramento was the only one during the Toronto Raptors' current five-game trip that fit into should-win.
Even then, it wasn't a neat fit.
But given where the Raptors have been (three consecutive losses to clubs in the Western Conference playoff chase) and where they are going (a game in Utah Monday against the NBA's best home team), a contest against the Kings provided the best chance to exit this trip with a victory.
Not so much.
Toronto Raptors forward Kris Humphries takes a shot as Sacramento Kings forward Mikki Moore defends during the first half of their game in Sacramento on Sunday. (Max Whittaker/Reuters)
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- Sacramento Kings
- Ron Artest
- Chris Bosh
- Primoz Brezec
- Carlos Delfino
- Jason Kapono
- Kevin Martin
- Rasho Nesterovic
Sacramento sent the Raptors to their fourth consecutive defeat, 106-100, before 13,963 at Arco Arena.
Toronto is now on its longest skid of the season and has dropped 10 in a row in the California capital. The Raptors fell to 4-10 this season without Chris Bosh (knee), and 2-7 over the past nine games minus their star forward.
Kevin Martin led all scorers with 32 and all five Sacramento starters were in double digits. Ron Artest had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Jason Kapono recaptured his shooting stroke and led Toronto with 26 points. Rasho Nesterovic had 20 in 47 minutes 37 seconds, heavy minutes logged in part because centre Primoz Brezec went down in the warm-up with a strained groin.
"Rasho has been very consistent," Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell said. "You can't ask much more out of Rasho. I had to play him a lot of minutes tonight. He gave us a chance to win the game [and] I thought Jason was really good."
But again, several Raptors underperformed, including Andrea Bargnani (2-for-7 for five points) and Jose Calderon (six points, 3-for-8).
"We've got to get five, six or seven guys playing well at the same time," Mitchell said. "We're getting sporadic performances. One night, it's a couple of guys. The next night, it's a couple of different guys."
Carlos Delfino missed three critical foul shots in the fourth quarter when the Raptors were trying to erase small disadvantages, and poor free throw shooting was a theme. Sacramento made its first 13 and finished 22 of 26. Toronto made just eight of 13.
The Kings also held a distinct rebounding advantage, snaring 50 to 36 for the Raptors.
The Raptors conclude their western swing Monday against a Jazz team that is 28-3 on its home floor.
Toronto's hold on fifth place in the Eastern Conference is down to a half game over the Washington Wizards and 11/2 over the surging Philadelphia 76ers.
The Raptors trailed by as many as 15 points in the second quarter until Mitchell called timeout and quelled the storm. Toronto scored the next nine points and went on a 16-2 run thanks to Kapono, who had 10 points in a row and finished the half with 16.
But the Raptors have now finished the past three first quarters trailing by big margins (nine, 16 and 19) and have allowed those disadvantages to grow in second quarters.
"Any time you spot a team a 15-point lead, it's always hard," Kapono said. "What we've been doing is fighting back every night and it's an uphill battle for us. We did a decent job of coming back and gave ourselves a chance in the end there, but it's a hard way to play the game."
Toronto's mantra going into this contest was back to basics on the defensive end. Opponents shot nearly 54 per cent against Toronto in the past five games and every one topped 50 per cent. That stretch ended Sunday night as the Kings just missed, shooting 48 per cent.
Toronto took a 56-55 lead early in the third quarter, but fell apart and never led again. The home side went on a 15-2 spurt to take back control of the game.
