It was a forgettable game in a forgettable season, less than a month into the shortened, post-lockout 1999 schedule. The Toronto Raptors fell behind by 22 in the first quarter at Indiana on Feb. 24 and pretty much stayed there, losing 104-84 to Reggie Miller, Rik Smits and their Pacers crew. Toronto missed all six of its 3-point attempts that night, which mattered less than its 27-of-80 (33.7 percent) struggles from inside the arc.
Looking back, though, that game stands in stark contrast to all that have followed in Raptorsland. Two nights later, Toronto hit four of 10 3-pointers in a victory over Minnesota and has kept at it, making at least one each night in every game since. It's up to 918 consecutive games now, the longest such streak in NBA history.
Night by night, hoist by hoist, the Raptors have kept alive their not-so-little three spree. Once they made as many as 21 (March 13, 2005 vs. Philadelphia). Twenty-five times, they have managed as few as one 3-pointer to keep the streak alive. They have obliterated the previous mark -- the Miami Heat held that one, at 594 games, which Toronto caught and passed back in March 2006 -- and were the first to 600, 700, 800 and 900.
For mathematical perspective on the margin that the Raptors now hold over the Heat's older streak, think of Baltimore shortstop Cal Ripken Jr.'s record of 2,632 consecutive games played -- and then someone else stringing together 4,067 in a row. As if Barry Bonds (ideally, a PED-free Barry Bonds) kept cranking out home runs until he got to 1,166, another 411 beyond Henry Aaron's total of 755.
Obviously, this isn't Joe DiMaggio facing the pressure to hit in 56 in a row -- any streak that can be kept alive by any of 12 teammates doesn't pack nearly the same urgency. Then there's the whimsy of it and the streak's apparent lack of correlation with things that really matter. Like winning basketball games.
Since their streak began, the Raptors have gone 423-495. They have ranked as high as second (twice) in 3-point percentage and as low as 19th, so 3-point excellence hasn't exactly been their calling card. As recently as Sunday, when they shot a respectable 6-of-15 at Oklahoma City, they got smacked overall by the Thunder 119-99.
That suggests the streak is more of a quirk, a fluke, a difference without a distinction. Consider, using baseball for perspective again, that the MLB team that has gone the longest without being the victim of a no-hitter -- the equivalent of getting at least one of something in every game -- is the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs haven't gone hitless since Sandy Koufax stymied them with a perfect game on Sept. 9, 1965. But it's not like the Cubs have done much of significance overall, team-wise, in the nearly 45 years since then.
Maybe that explains the lack of enthusiasm with which the Raptors have treated their three streak.
"After our last game, I didn't even know,'' rookie DeMar DeRozan said at the All-Star break. "I don't think nobody knew. Because Bryan Colangelo brought it up after our game, after Sonny Weems hit the first three of that game [Feb. 10]. We were like, 'What's the big deal?'
"We didn't know what was a big deal about it. We were winning. He hit the three. A couple of people reacted. We were like, `Why?' We were up by like 20. It wasn't because of the lead, it had to be something else. After the game, I found out -- there was a streak going on. I was like, 'That's crazy.' "
DeRozan has contributed just four 3-pointers to the effort. Chris Bosh, Toronto's All-Star forward, was 6-of-16 from the arc before going down recently with a sprained left ankle. He was due to miss his sixth consecutive game Monday night at Houston, with Toronto eager to snap a three-game skid. Those are the sort of streaks that matter more to the Raptors and their fans at the moment.
"I don't think we think about it unless we're maybe 0-for-something and it's the third quarter and we haven't made a three," Bosh said at the break. "I know Jose Calderon, he's kind of intrigued by it. He's like, 'We've got to make a three to keep it going.' But we just play. It's not an important thing, it's just a matter of fact while we're playing. [Calderon] might say it real quietly over on the bench or something ... It's just hitting one three a game. I thought every team does that. I guess not."
Rather than much ado about nothing, the Raptors' streak might best be classified as a little ado about sorta, kinda something. There are some interesting aspects to the streak, some dates and numbers that provide real context:
• The streak is more than 10 years old now, which means that it has been around longer than your iPod or any commercially available hybrid car.
• Toronto shooters have made 5,505 3-pointers during the streak, an average of six per game.
• The streak has passed through 10 arenas no longer in use in the NBA.
• The Raptors have held opponents three-less eight times during their streak.
• Five NBA teams have gone oh-fer from the arc at least once this season alone.
• The streak has been helped along most by former Raptor Morris Peterson, who accounted for 801 3-pointers during its life. Vince Carter chipped in 551 and Andrea Bargnani tops current Raptors with 395 3-pointers during the streak.
The closest the streak has come to ending was on Nov. 29, 2006, when reserve guard Darrick Martin hit Toronto's only 3-pointer with just 0.5 seconds left in a 117-98 loss at Dallas. The Raptors had missed their first five that night, and Martin's last-second fling was vividly recalled by the team's media relations director, Jim LaBumbard.
"Dallas was right behind us in this thing [3-point streak]," LaBumbard said. "Darrick is dribbling out the clock and we hadn't hit one yet. So he just fires one off-balance, and it goes in. With five-tenths of a second to go, something ridiculous like that. It goes in and I'm standing there, and all of a sudden you hear the Dallas announcers go, "Noooo! That's our record now! He hit the three!" They were upset about it. It was classic."
Turns out the Mavericks are right behind Toronto in this, hitting at least one 3-pointer in 916 consecutive games now. So the record has some real live competition going for it, even if it's not as compelling as an overtime Finals game. Or, on some nights, watching paint dry.
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