The Toronto Raptors' torrid start to the season is officially record-breaking.
Toronto's 116-107 victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Friday night was the Raptors' sixth straight win to start the 2018-19 NBA season, a new franchise record. Led by outstanding performances from Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors held off a stubborn Mavericks team that pulled to within a single point late in the third quarter after falling behind by 17 in the first half.
Lowry's 20 points and 12 assists represented the fourth straight double-double for the veteran point guard, a new personal high. Lowry committed zero turnovers on Friday, and he leads the NBA with 62 assists after six games (with 14 total turnovers).
Kyle Lowry’s passing has been inch-perfect tonight. pic.twitter.com/T7ZRYBvSqR
— Sporting News Canada (@sportingnewsca) October 26, 2018
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Leonard, who has regularly been serenaded with "MVP" chants from the Scotiabank Arena crowd, turned in another All-Star calibre performance with a team-high 21 points, along with five assists, nine rebounds and three steals.
The visi👁️n pic.twitter.com/0j4yJdQMl4
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) October 27, 2018
While Lowry and Leonard will get all the headlines, perhaps most impressive about Toronto's season-opening winning streak is the team's defensive prowess. Dallas's 41.3 percent shooting efficiency from the field on Friday meant that no Raptors opponent has shot over 42 percent this season. That, too, is a new franchise record.
With a new bar for season-opening wins set, Toronto travels to Milwaukee on Monday for its biggest test of the young season. The Bucks are 5-0 and right behind the Raptors at the top of the Eastern Conference.