BBNBA: Immanuel Quickley dishes out 18 assists as struggling Raptors lose to Suns

On Thursday, the Toronto Raptors took on the Phoenix Suns as they desperately needed a win to put them back in the playoff race.

The Raptors are the 12-seed in the East, putting them just outside of the bid for making the Play-In Tournament. However, the Suns would fend off the Raptors, even without Devin Booker, who is day-to-day with a sprained ankle.

Despite the loss, Immanuel Quickley was stellar as he did anything and everything to try to power the Raptors to the finish line.

In 40 minutes on the floor, Quickley scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds, which is impressive in itself. However, the glaring number from IQ’s stat line was the 18 assists he recorded. He was just shy of the Raptors franchise record for assists in a game. That record belongs to Fred VanVleet who got 20 assists back in April of last year.

Still, Quickley was in his bag on Thursday.

It’s safe to say that the post-Kawhi Leonard era in Toronto has been underwhelming at best, but Immanuel Quickley has been a nice addition to this young Raptors team. Under first-year head coach Darko Rajakovic, the Raptors could very well be in the mix as one of the best teams in the East in a few years with Quickley leading the charge.

Other BBNBA Notes:

• The Sacramento Kings narrowly escaped a loss to the Spurs as De’Aaron Fox scored a game-high 33 points. Malik Monk (18) and Trey Lyles (9) made significant contributions to the scoring column as well. On the losing side, Keldon Johnson had 22 points for San Antonio.
• Jamal Murray‘s 19 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and two steals helped the Denver Nuggets get a big win over the Boston Celtics.
• Alongside a Luka Doncic triple-double, PJ Washington posted 10 points and eight boards as the Dallas Mavericks downed the Miami Heat. Bam Adebayo had 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals in the loss for the Heat.
• Isaiah Jackson recorded four points and a block in seven minutes of action for the Indiana Pacers against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

3/7/24 Statistics:

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	131-129 W vs SAS	33	14-32 (1-7)	5	5	3	0	1	0	35
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	131-129 L @ SAC	22	9-17 (4-11)	3	4	1	0	1	-14	28
Immanuel Quickley (TOR)	120-113 L @ PHX	21	9-17 (2-7)	9	18	1	0	2	2	40
Jamal Murray (DEN)	115-109 W vs DEN	19	7-18 (1-4)	6	8	2	0	5	4	37
Malik Monk (SAC)	131-129 W vs SAS	18	6-17 (2-7)	7	9	1	1	6	13	30
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	114-108 L @ DAL	14	5-14 (0-2)	9	5	3	0	1	-5	37
PJ Washington (DAL)	114-108 @ vs MIA	10	4-12 (1-6)	8	1	1	1	1	-6	29
Trey Lyles (SAC)	131-129 W vs SAS	9	3-5 (1-2)	6	2	0	0	0	4	18
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	113-111 L vs MIN	4	1-1 (0-0)	0	0	0	1	0	0	7
Oscar Tshiebwe (IND)	113-111 L vs MIN	DNP – Coach’s Decision	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	113-11 W @ IND	DNP – Meniscus	–	–	–	–	–	–		–
Tyler Herro (MIA)	114-108 L @ DAL	DNP – Knee	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Devin Booker (PHX)	120-113 W vs TOR	DNP – Ankle	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Tonight in the NBA:

• 7:00 EST | Hornets (Richards) @ Wizards
• 7:00 EST | Pelicans @ 76ers (Maxey: out)
• 7:30 EST (ESPN) | Timberwolves (Towns: out) @ Cavaliers
• 7:30 EST | Magic @ Knicks (Randle: out, Toppin)
• 8:00 EST | Hawks @ Grizzlies
• 8:00 EST | Heat (Adebayo, Herro) @ Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Wallace, Sarr: 2-Way)
• 10:00 EST | Rockets @ Trail Blazers (Sharpe: out, Hagans: 2-Way)
• 10:00 EST (ESPN) | Bucks (Livingston: 2-Way, TyTy Washington: 2-Way) @ Lakers (Davis, Vanderbilt: out)