As rumours continue to swirl, Raptors can rejoice in wake of win as tough Golden State Warriors are up next

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Kings for a day, at least the Raptors have something to build on as their epic seven-game trip continues with a Friday night tip against the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

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For those who missed Toronto’s late-night conquest in Sacramento, the Raptors posted one of their most impressive performances of the season against a Kings team poised to enter the ranks of NBA royalty.

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As it turned out, the Raptors were being crowned and hailed for how well they played on both ends of the court.

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What it all means in the grand scheme of things can’t be easily defined when rumours of impending change continue to swirl as the league’s trade deadline draws even closer.

Sacramento sits atop the Pacific Division and entered its matchup against the Raptors basking in the glow of a 133-100 pasting over Memphis on a night the Kings drained 12 three-pointers in a quarter to tie an NBA record.

Toronto stunned the Kings 113-95 by holding the hosts to a season-low in points.

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“I know we’ve had our struggles this year, for sure, but all we can do at this point is focus on tomorrow,” Fred VanVleet said after the night’s improbable events. “At this point we’ve just got to stack days.

“Today (Wednesday) was a good day. We had a good day yesterday (Tuesday). I thought the New York game (on Sunday) was good. That’s three good days in a row. Another good one tomorrow (Friday).

“Focus on the work that’s in front of you. I just thought we were really tied in tonight (in the win over the Kings) on both ends of the floor.”

The way the Raptors defended, the way they moved the basketball to record 16 first-half assists on 24 makes, the way they protected the basketball, one would think there’s no way the team would even contemplate breaking up this unit.

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Despite the win, the future of the team’s core players continues to dominant the basketball conversation.

At 22-27, the Raptors are five games behind Miami for the sixth seed in the East, a slot that would avoid competing in the play-in tournament.

The 22 wins are just as many as Chicago, which resides in 10th place.

Whether it’s VanVleet, whose list of rumoured suitors in potential trade scenarios continues to grow, the likes of O.G. Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr. or even Pascal Siakam, results such as Wednesday’s win almost get lost in the shuffle.

As he has often done this season, Siakam led the way by scoring 26 points.

He wasn’t nearly as efficient on this night, requiring 24 attempts to lead all scorers.

Siakam added 11 rebounds, while recording seven assists.

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Just as impressive was the one turnover he committed.

The Raptors, in fact, were a plus-10 in the turnover battle and emerged with a plus-6 in rebounding, an area that has not been a strength.

“We looked good and felt good,” VanVleet said. “We were locked in. We have had our struggles this year.”

The Raptors led by as many as 20 against a Kings team that will embark on their own seven-game odyssey.

Five players scored at least 16 points for the Raptors.

Chris Boucher and Precious Achiuwa combined to score 35 points by making 16 of 22 shots.

The bench duo also combined to haul down 19 rebounds.

Achiuwa did have three turnovers, one third of the team’s total.

There have been times this season when Toronto’s play reaches such a high level that opposing coaches are left in awe.

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Such was the case in Sacramento.

“Their length, their athleticism, their switchability and their ball pressure,’’ began Mike Brown, a defensive-minded head coach who joined the Kings after his stint on Steve Kerr’s bench with the Warriors.

“Their physicality sped us up. We didn’t do a great job of handling that at all. We always talk about winning the possession game and we weren’t even close. They kicked our behind on the glass. They kicked our behind in the turnover area. It’s hard to beat a team when a team gets up 24-25 more shots than you do.”

Keep in mind that the Kings had averaged 119.7 points a game to lead all teams in the NBA.

Toronto attempted 97 shots, while suffocating the Kings to heaving 73.

MOUTH OFF

Any game pitting the Raptors and Warriors evokes memories of Toronto’s 2019 championship run, a title that was won in six games when the Warriors made Oakland their home.

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A undermanned Warriors team came to Toronto earlier this season and thoroughly embarrassed the Raptors.

Friday night’s meeting in Frisco promises to be quite compelling.

Steph Curry, for one, will play his first game against Toronto this season.

He enters the night following an ejection against Memphis.

Curry has made chewing his mouthpiece something of a habit, a bad habit it must be noted.

Against the Grizzlies, he got ejected throwing it.

It was his third-career toss, the first against Cleveland in the 2016 NBA final, the other the following year against Memphis.

His latest toss occurred Wednesday.

With 1:23 remaining in the fourth quarter, Klay Thompson missed a shot.

Donte DiVincenzo grabbed the offensive board and quickly passed to Jordan Poole.

With Curry calling for the ball, Poole threw up a quick three that missed.

Obviously frustrated with Poole, Curry angrily tossed his mouthpiece into the stands.

The officials immediately ejected him.

“He knows he can’t make that mistake again,” said Kerr following Golden State’s 122-120 win when Poole produced the winning basket with one second remaining.

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