Warriors Suffer 53-Point Loss to Raptors with Steph, Draymond Out Due to Injury
April 3, 2021
The Golden State Warriors trailed by as many as 61 points en route to a 130-77 loss against the Toronto Raptors on Friday at Amelie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The Raps led 27-26 after one quarter but dominated from there, outscoring the Dubs 81-30 over the next 24 minutes. Pascal Siakam led Toronto with 36 points, and Gary Trent Jr. added 24. OG Anunoby added 21.
Golden State shot just 32.9 percent from the field and committed 21 turnovers. Andrew Wiggins led the team with 15 points.
"We just got destroyed," head coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the loss. "Not a whole lot to be said...humiliating for everybody involved."
The shorthanded Warriors were without point guard Stephen Curry (bruised tailbone) and Draymond Green (finger, hip injuries), but the Raps were also missing Kyle Lowry (foot infection). A strained left hip flexor also limited Fred VanVleet to 19 minutes.
The Warriors' season is clearly on the brink, and Anthony Slater of The Athletic pointed out some troubling trends and facts:
Per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, the 53-point loss is the second-largest margin of defeat in Warriors' history. The 1971-72 Warriors lost to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers 162-99 on March 19, 1972.
Per the Elias Sports Bureau (h/t ESPN's Nick Friedell), the Raptors' 51-point edge over the second and third quarters was the largest deficit ever built over a two-quarter span. In addition, Friday marked just the fourth time in 25 seasons that a team trailed by 60 or more points during a game, per ESPN Stats & Info (h/t Friedell).
The largest margin of victory (or defeat) by an NBA team is 68 points, when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 148-80 on Dec. 17, 1991.
Golden State fell to 23-26 with the defeat. Toronto improved to 19-30.