Nick Nurse never feared the Toronto Raptors would "mail it in" after witnessing his side produce a stunning franchise-record comeback to deny the Dallas Mavericks.
The defending champion trailed by 30 points late in the third quarter of Sunday's contest but produced the biggest NBA fightback in a decade to secure a memorable 110-107 win at Scotiabank Arena.
Even more impressively, the Raptors was without forward Pascal Siakam (groin), center Marc Gasol (hamstring) and shooting guard Norman Powell (shoulder) but Kyle Lowry saved 20 of his 32 points for a dramatic fourth quarter.
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Head coach Nurse had nothing but praise for the fighting spirit within his roster.
"I would say historically we've always been a team that fights," Nurse said.
"In my time here, we hardly ever mail it in. It's a good characteristic to have. That thought barely came into my head there, and I said, 'we're going to give it a go here to start the fourth.'"
Lowry refused to take the individual plaudits, instead choosing to praise a cast of reserves including Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Chris Boucher, Terence Davis and Malcolm Miller.
"We had a great team effort," said Lowry, who also contributed eight rebounds and 10 assists.
"Malcolm, Terence Davis, Rondae and Chris Boucher, I give them all the credit today. They won that game for us. Give those guys the credit, man, seriously."
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