Warriors avoid massive meltdown, fend off Raptors rally after posting 81-54 halftime lead

The Toronto Raptors came oh-so close to pulling off a massive stunner on Saturday.

The Golden State Warriors were on a roll early with Steph Curry back from an ankle injury and posted a huge first half to take an 81-54 lead over the Raptors in Toronto.

But the wheels fell off in the fourth for Golden State as Toronto slowed the Warriors’ roll and closed the gap to one point in the closing moments. But there just wasn’t enough time as Toronto’s rally came up just short in a 127-125 Golden State win.

Demar DeRozan led the comeback with a huge 42-point, five-rebound, three-assist effort. The Raptors also got 12 points, nine rebounds and this nifty move in the midst of the Toronto rally from Jonas Valanciunas.

But it wasn’t enough, as Klay Thompson (26 points), Kevin Durant (25 points) and Curry (24 points) all had big nights for Golden State.

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Curry left the door open with a pair of uncharacteristic misses at the line late in the fourth to give the Raptors hope.

But Toronto will have to settle for the moral victory after what looked like a would-be embarrassing loss at halftime.

For Golden State, it’s probably best that they get some practice in close games with quality competition where they can.