CHRIS Boucher delivered timely baskets in the endgame as Toronto Raptors pulled off a 104-101 upset over Golden State Warriors in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario.
Down 93-96 with over four minutes remaining, Boucher scored on a dunk to cut the deficit to 95-96 before following it up with a three-point conversion to tie the score at 98-all.
The Warriors took the lead at 101-98 on a Kyle Anderson triple, but the Raptors answered with conversions from Boucher and Ochai Agbaji to secure the come-from-behind win.
Boucher, who won an NBA championship as a rookie with the Warriors in 2018, finished with 18 points, including three outside shots, to go with seven rebounds, two assists, and a block as the Raptors improved to a 9-31 record.
Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 23 points, RJ Barrett and Jacob Poeltl added 15 and 13 points, respectively, while Gracey Dick and Agbaji ended with 12 markers apiece.
Stephen Curry finished with 26 points, Andrew Wiggins added 20 markers, while Anderson, Dennis Schröder, and Kevon Looney contributed 13, 12, and 10 points, respectively, for the Warriors, which dropped to 19-20.
Meanwhile, Houston Rockets (26-12) went on a huge surge with under a minute left to escape with a 120-118 victory over Memphis Grizzlies (25-15) at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Down 114-115 after a basket by Grizzlies’ Brandon Clarke with 51.1 seconds in the game, the Rockets quickly regained the lead at 116-115 on a basket by Filipino-American guard Jalen Green.
After turnovers from the Grizzlies’ side, the Rockets extended their lead to 120-115 with two free throws each from Amen Thompson and Fred VanVleet with two seconds in the contest.
Green top-scored for the Rockets with 42 points, Thompson added a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Alperen Sengun and Cam Whitmore had 17 and 16 points, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
TORONTO 104 — Barnes 23, Boucher 18, Barrett 15, Poeltl 13, Dick 12, Agbaji 12, Shead 9, Olynyk 2, Mitchell 0, Brown 0.
GOLDEN STATE 101 — Curry 26, Wiggins 20, Anderson 13, Schröder 12, Looney 10, Hield 8, Waters 8, Jackson-Davis 3, Moody 1, Santos 0.
Quarterscores: 28-26, 52-50, 75-78, 104-101.
