The Toronto Raptors fall to 12-2 on the season after dropping their first home game of the season to the New Orleans Pelicans 126-110.
The Pelicans were in control for the majority of the game with Anthony Davis, E'Twaun Moore and Jrue Holiday all reaching the 25-point mark on the night.
Here are the four takeaways from the Raptors first loss with Kawhi Leonard in action...
Shooting percentages
The Raptors got out to a cold start that they could not overcome. They shot 2-for-12 from deep in the first quarter and remained cold for the rest of the contest. They finished the game shooting 39-for-97 from the field (40.2 percent) and 13-for-45 from three (28.9 percent), the second-worst shooting night they've had all season. Kyle Lowry, Danny Green and Jonas Valanciunas shot a combined 2-for-16 from the field 1-for-11 from beyond the arc.
On the other side of things, the Pelicans simply could not miss. They shot a ridiculous 54.5 percent from the field making 54 of their 99 field goal attempts on the night. They also converted 10 of their 27 three-point attempts, good for 37.0 percent. This was the second-best shooting game the Pelicans have had this season.
When the Raptors made a quick push early in the fourth quarter, the Pelicans were able to respond right away. They shot 13-for-20 from the field in the final frame behind a perfect 4-for-4 shooting from Anthony Davis and 5-for-6 shooting from E'Twaun Moore to seal the tough road win in Toronto.
Points in the paint differential
The story of the night, other than the Raptors poor three-point shooting, was the points in the paint differential.
The Pelicans destroyed the Raptors in the key with a variety of layups, dunks and floaters; especially floaters. Moore and Jrue Holiday were slicing through the lane all night long finding different ways to finish around the rim and Davis and Julius Randle had no issue getting easy buckets either.
The Pelicans finished with 72 points in the paint compared to the Raptors 42. That 30-point differential combined with the Raptors poor outside shooting explains the outcome of the game.
If you take away three-point attempts, Moore, Holiday, Davis and Randle combined for 72 points on 36-for-54 shooting on two-point attempts - that's an insane 66.7 percent.
Where was Lowry?
For the first time this season, Kyle Lowry was ineffective. Lowry started the game 0-for-4 from the field missing his first three attempts from long range. He ended up missing his first eight field goal attempts before he finally got one to go late in the fourth quarter. He finished the game 0-for-6 from three and only had two free throw attempts - which he made both.
He still managed to dish out 11 assists in his 33 minutes of playing time, but the Raptors desperately needed more from him on the offensive end with the numbers Holiday (29 points) and Moore (30 points) were putting up.
It was an off night for Lowry but Holiday, who was First Team All-Defense last season, deserves his credit for shutting down a point guard who has been playing some of the best basketball in the league until this game.
Pascal Siakam was still good
Pascal Siakam's play this season has been tremendous and he was honored by earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week . Tonight, Siakam was still a bright spot on an otherwise tough showing from the Raptors.
He finished with a team-high 22 points on an efficient 8-for-12 from the field and 2-for-4 from three-point land. This was Siakam's third consecutive game with 20 points which shows the type of progression he has had, because he only scored 20 twice in his first 147 NBA games . Nick Nurse trusted Siakam with the challenging task of guarding Anthony Davis and even though Davis had a big night, it shows how much Nurse believes in Siakam going forward.
The Raptors' young forward also had three rebounds, three blocks, one assist and one steal in the contest.