NBA scores 2016: The Raptors beat the Hawks by 44, their biggest blowout win ever

Raptors could be ready to give Cleveland a run for their money come playoff time.

Dec 4, 2016, 1:00 PM UTC

Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Raptors are a really good NBA team. Because of a god-like (read: GOAT-like) small forward in Cleveland, the Raptors likely won’t make it past the Eastern Conference Finals. But Toronto is easily one of the more feared teams the East has to offer.

The Atlanta Hawks, also, are no team to laugh about. They replaced Al Horford with Dwight Howard, traded Jeff Teague to move Dennis Schröder to full-time starting point guard, and still have Mike Budenhölzer calling masterful plays from the sidelines.

A Raptors-Hawks showdown on Saturday night was supposed to be an action-packed movie for all to enjoy. Instead, NBA fans got a bloodbath. Toronto absolutely pulverized Atlanta, 128-84, marking the largest margin of victory in franchise history.

The Raptors had eight players in double-digits with only DeMar DeRozan scoring 20 points (he had 21). Nine players had three or more rebounds, and Toronto finished with 28 assists. Kyle Lowry dished out eight assists and grabbed eight rebounds to go along with his 17 points.

Raptors rookie big man Jakob Poeltl even dunked on Tim Hardaway, Jr.

And Lowry found Pascal Siakam for this three-quarters court alley-oop.

In all, the Raptors shot 57.6 percent from the field and 54.2 percent from downtown (13-for-24). They also had 14 steals.

On the defensive end, they held Atlanta to just 39.8-percent shooting from the field and a paltry 7-for-28 from downtown. The vaunted Budenholzer offensive scheme came up flat and Toronto looked like the juggernaut it needs to be to compete with Cleveland come playoff time.

Toronto may have annihilated Atlanta on Saturday, but the NBA boasted quite a few interesting match-ups. Here’s what you missed if you were out partying before Sunday:

Dario Saric obliterated Jonas Jerebko’s ankles

If your skin doesn’t crawl when watching Jonas Jerebko’s knees touch Earth, you need to re-evaluate yourself. This fundamentally sound Dario Saric jab step led to a devastating behind-the-back move that buckled his opponent where he stood.

Even better, Saric made the mid-range jumper. He’s now validated in all parks in Philly.

Lou Williams dropped 40 points on Memphis

Lou Williams is still the devastating scorer he was two years ago when he won 2015 Sixth Man of the Year coming off the bench for the Toronto Raptors. And on Saturday, he reminded the NBA why you have to game plan for him night-in and night-out.

Evan Turner is proving useful after all

When Portland acquired Evan Turner, his fit alongside Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum as ball-dominant guards immediately came into question. But Turner has been solid coming off the bench with the second unit, and he’s made plays like this for his teammates so far this season.

Now, it’s just a matter of figuring how the Trail Blazers can be effective with their three primary ball-handlers on the floor at the same time.

Jabari Parker absolutely bullied Anthony Bennett into a new career-high

Anthony Bennett’s had a rough go at this NBA thing. He never quite lived up to expectations after Cleveland unexpectedly drafted him first overall and 2013, and the Nets are his fourth team in just three years.

Unfortunately, things didn’t lighten up for Bennett on Saturday, when Jabari Parker (6’8, 250) completely manhandled Bennett (6’8, 235) as if he were a bold young soul at a charity event.

It wasn’t all bad for the UNLV one-and-done. Bennett, in fact, posted a career-best night on the glass, snatching 14 rebounds to go along with his seven points. And he may have air-balled a wide open triple (video pending), but a few plays like this pick-and-roll jam show he may have a future in the league going forward.

JaVale McGee did a very JaVale McGee thing

After sinking a free throw, Warriors big man and perennial Shaqtin’ A Fool nominee JaVale McGee attempted to inbound the ball to his teammates. After realizing Phoenix now had possession of the ball, he dropped it and got back on defense.

Here is his team’s reaction:

Friday’s five top performances

Wesley Matthews: 26 points, 9-for-17 shooting, 7-for-11 from three

Dallas’ wing looked like the same sharp-shooter they had hoped to acquire when the Mavericks signed him from Portland. The Mavs are still at the bottom of the NBA, but Saturday could have been Matthews’ coming out party. Also, Dwyane Wade didn’t play (rest).

Lou Williams: 40 points, 11-for-20 shooting, 14-for-14 on free throws

The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year proved he’s still got a lot in the tank, dropping 40 on a bevy of Grizzly defenders, including Tony Allen.

Karl-Anthony Towns: 27 points, 10-for-22 shooting, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks

Towns is proving he won’t slow down any time soon. He’s taking the losses harder than some thought, but his play on the floor is something you can never question.

Giannis Antetokounmpo: 16 points, 5-for-9 shooting, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocks

So long as Giannis continues to do things like this...

And this...

The future will continue to be incredibly bright in Milwaukee.

Isaiah Thomas: 37 points, 11-for-19 shooting, 13-for-15 on free throws, 7 assists

Thomas is still getting an incredible amount of buckets for a guy 5’9 going up against giants. And there’s nothing the NBA can do to stop him.

Honorable mentions: Hassan Whiteside (28 points, 16 rebounds), Troy Daniels (31 points) and Steph Curry (31 points, 10-for-15 shooting, 5-for-7 on threes)