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The Raptors are struggling defensively as it is, so not being able to finish possessions when they do get stops must feel like repeatedly kicking themselves in the face. It left some bruises Wednesday night and cost them any chance of ending an early-season losing streak. Crushed on the glass by the Houston Rockets, especially enthusiasm-sapping offensive rebounds that turned into second-chance Rockets points, the Raptors dropped a 139-121 decision at Scotiabank Arena, their fourth consecutive defeat. “The rebounding numbers? There’s the game right there,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “They got 17 offensive rebounds, 53 rebounds overall, comparing to our 22 (overall) and that’s 31 rebounds difference right there. “I thought our guys were fighting, they were trying as much as they could. They just manhandled us inside the paint, and we did not have an answer for the rebounding.” The Raptors started the night at a deficit and never got past it. Back tightness forced centre Jakob Poeltl to miss the game, robbing the Raptors of their lone seven-footer and best rebounder. It was a glaring deficiency. While the likes of Collin Murray-Boyles and Scottie Barnes are willing defenders, they just aren’t tall enough to deal with Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengün. The seven-foot Durant simply backed defenders to the mid-range, turned and shot jumpers unimpeded by a hand in his face. The six-foot-11 Sengün feasted in the post when he wasn’t free for long jumpers, basically uncontested by shorter defenders. Poeltl has been dealing with back issues since the start of the season. Rajakovic said he’s considered day-to-day, but it’s been a lingering problem. “I don’t think it’s a long-term thing at all,” the coach said of Poeltl, who also dealt with a pre-season illness. “This is something he’s managing right now, figuring out playing … He was not moving the way we know he can move, and his performance is not where we know Jak can be.” Unfortunately for the Raptors, the performance they got from the rest of the team is where they are at this early juncture. The defence is inconsistent, the half-court offence is shaky when they can’t get out and run off turnovers, and the bench has provided no consistency at all. Only big nights from Barnes (31 points), Brandon Ingram (29 points) and first-time starter Murray-Boyles (13 points and some game defence against Durant, Sengün and Steven Adams) allowed the Raptors to even make it a contest. With uncharacteristically good three-point shooting (Toronto made 21 of 40 threes) the Raptors were within 10 points with about half of the fourth quarter remaining, but couldn’t rally all the way back. Houston finished on a 14-5 run that included five offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter and eight of their second-chance points. It was the story of the night for Toronto. “When you’re rebounding the ball after offensive rebounds and putbacks, it slows you down,” Rajakovic said. “I thought offensively that we did solid job. I think we were moving the ball. We were trying to find each other. I mean, we shot the ball pretty well from the three-point line as well. “We had a couple of players that had a good offensive performance, but we need more from everybody, from starters. We need more from guys coming off the bench. They need to be more contributors to the team as well.” For Murray-Boyles — whose “fearless” play, as Rajakovic calls it, will surely earn him more minutes — it was a tough night of hard lessons. He started it trying to stay with the savvy, sublime scoring machine Durant, and ended it banging with the huge, tough Adams. It wasn’t a lot of fun. “Steven Adams is like insanely strong,” Murray-Boyles said of the six-foot-11, 265-pound Houston centre. “My wrists are sore right now (after) trying to box him out and tussle with him and it’s impossible. “I didn’t think (the NBA) was like that. Nobody get over his screens. Like I was asking him what his routine is midgame. It’s insane ... and then you have to worry about him and K.D. It’s crazy what they’ve got.”
