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The Toronto Raptors are breathing a sigh of relief after beating the Los Angeles Clippers 125-118 inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
The Raptors were trailing by as much as 16 points, and things did not go in their favour for the first three quarters. Still, the Raptors stuck to it and managed to drop 47 points in the final frame, which was enough to flip the game on its head and move them toward a win.
Starting point guard Immanuel Quickley spoke after the game about the team's ability to stick around and ultimately come out on top.
“Sometimes the game is just not going your way, and you’ve to make it go your way with defence, with stops, with rebounding, taking care of the ball,” Quickley said via Sportsnet reporter Michael Grange.
“Sometimes the game, literally whatever you do, it sometimes doesn’t go your way. But you got to just kind of stick with it. I think sports teaches that a lot. When it’s not going your way, you got to make it go your way.”
On paper, the Raptors were favored in the game. Mainly because they have a playoff caliber roster that the Clippers simply don't possess at the moment. The Raptors and Clippers are forever changed by the trade they made just before the start of the season that sent Kawhi Leonard back to the Raptors for Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick.
While Dick was the only player participating in the game from the trade, it came down to the complimentary players to decide. This affair. Even though the Raptors were coming off the second night of a back-to-back, they managed to find enough strength to rally past the Clippers in that fourth quarter, mostly due to their ability to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line.
Quickley, Ja'Kobe Walter, and Scottie Barnes were all able to reach the free-throw line at least 10 times. While the team struggled at the charity stripe by missing 17 free throws, they still managed to find a way thanks to the sheer volume of their ability to draw fouls.
By no means was it the prettiest win the Raptors have had this season, and it likely won't be the last time they'll have to win ugly. Still, it counts the same as the pretty ones in the standings, and that's what matters at the end of the day.
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