We just beat the future MVP and the best team in the NBA. Isn't it awesome? Crowd was pumped from the beginning. Loved it! I wish Toyota Center was at least half that loud.
The fact of the matter is when you are first in the league you have a target on your back, when you have 17 game win streak going you have another target on your back, the fact that when you are beating most opponents by double digits the target and opponent focus becomes greater.. The other team which also happens to be number 1 in their conference and best home record, just came a bit more focused, they were laser focused in the first quarter, we matched their focus in the second quarter and we out focused them in the second half, but it wasn't enough to offset the piledriving we got in the first Q.. All those saying road ryno could have made a difference, maybe he could. The fact is Ryno is legitimately our 8th best player. I am putting all starters and EG and Luc in front of him and at this point raptors as well as most other teams have one or two rotation players out..
Our last ugly game (and our last double-digit loss) was the infamous "Capela is the one who knocks" game nearly two months ago, on January 15. In 2018, we are 25-5, for a winning % of 833. And 3 of those losses were without Harden. This team couldn't have played much better over that span.
The last two losses were the result of us idling in the 1st/2nd quarter, getting too far behind and stepping on the gas a little too late.