Raptors set franchise record with 53-point win over Warriors
April is treating the Toronto Raptors far better than March did.
After winning just one of 14 games last month, the Raptors set a franchise record for largest margin of victory Friday in a 130-77 win over the Golden State Warriors.
The previous franchise mark was 46 points set on Feb. 23, 2020, in a 127-81 win against the Indiana Pacers.
Pascal Siakam celebrated his 27th birthday in style with a season-high 36 points, while newcomer Gary Trent Jr. helped out with 24 points for Toronto. Trent was plus-54 on the night, the second-highest plus-minus since the league started tracking the stat in 1996 behind Luc Mbah a Moute's plus-57. Siakam's plus-49 is the fifth-highest in NBA history.
OG Anunoby chipped in with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and rookie Malachi Flynn bagged a career-best 16 points, most of them in the fourth quarter.
Andrew Wiggins led a shorthanded Warriors side with 15 points. Steve Kerr's team was without both Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
"You saw it. We just got destroyed," Kerr said postgame, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell. "Not a whole lot to be said. Humiliating for everybody involved."
Golden State's loss is the third-most lopsided in team history. The Warriors suffered a 63-point defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972 before dropping a 56-point points loss to the Lakers in a playoff game in 1973.
"I think without Steph and Draymond out there, I think we were a little bit rudderless when things went south," Kerr added. "We didn't have the internal fight that we needed to kind of get over the hump."
It wasn't all good news for the Raptors after Fred VanVleet was forced to leave the game in the third quarter due to a hip injury. Toronto was already without Kyle Lowry, who missed his second consecutive game with an infected toe.
With the victory, the Raptors improve to 19-30 on the season, while the Warriors slip to 23-26 after their seventh loss in 10 outings.