Raptors book 4th straight playoff trip with win in Dallas

By earning a wire-to-wire road victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, the Toronto Raptors became the fourth Eastern Conference team to secure a postseason berth, joining the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Washington Wizards.

The Raptors' post-deadline defensive turnaround continued in Dallas, where the Mavs shot 37 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep, en route to an 86-point performance.

It's the fourth straight playoff season for the Raptors, whose previous team record for consecutive postseason appearances was three (2000-2002 and 2014-2016).

Through the franchise's first 18 seasons of existence, the Raptors made just five playoff trips while compiling a 581-847 record and adding only 11 total postseason victories. In the four years since, Toronto has an East-leading 197 wins, with 13 playoff victories, highlighted by last year's run to the Eastern Conference Final.

Saturday also marked Toronto's conference-leading fifth straight victory, which kept the fourth-place Raptors just a game behind third-place Washington, who earned an impressive road victory in Cleveland earlier in the night.