76ers at Raptors pregame notes

RAPTORS NOTES
• The Toronto Raptors play the second of consecutive games against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet each had 23 points as the Raptors beat Philadelphia 110-103 on Sunday for their season-high fourth straight victory. After starting the 2020-21 season with one win in seven games, the Raptors are above .500 for the first time.
• The Raptors have won 16 straight games at home against the Sixers. Since 2013-14, Toronto is 25-5 vs. Philadelphia during the regular season.
• This is Toronto’s fifth and final ‘series’ in the first half where a team scheduled to play twice in one market, has those games scheduled to be played consecutively. The Raptors are 7-2 in ‘series’ games, which
includes sweeps over Charlotte (H) and Milwaukee (A) and splits with Miami (H) and Indiana (A). Toronto also swept consecutive games with Orlando, however it was a home-and-away set.
• Fred VanVleet is averaging career highs of 20.1 points, 6.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds this season. He leads the NBA in total steals (53) and deflections (117), and is tied for second with 39 loose balls recovered. VanVleet could become the first undrafted all-star since Ben Wallace in 2006. Toronto has had at
least one all-star selected for seven straight seasons, with two Raptors going each of the last five years.
• The Raptors (8-3) have the best record in Eastern Conference in February. Toronto is averaging 116.4 points and shooting .473 (452-956) from the field, including .401 (159-397) from three-point range this month. The trio of Fred VanVleet (22.5), Pascal Siakam (22.0) and Norman Powell (21.5) lead the Raptors on the offensive end, combining to average 66.1 points in February. Two of Toronto’s three losses this month have come on the second night of a back-to-back set.
• Pascal Siakam recorded 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists Feb. 21 vs. Philadelphia. Siakam has now recorded five or more assists in a career-high five straight games (Feb. 14-21). He is averaging 6.2 assists and has a 3.10 assists-per-turnover ratio (31-to-10) during this stretch. Siakam has dished out
double-digit assists twice this season, including a career-high 12 Jan. 8 at Sacramento.
• Kyle Lowry missed his third straight game (Feb. 18-21), and sixth of the season, Sunday vs. Philadelphia due to a left thumb sprain. Lowry injured the thumb in the first quarter Feb. 16 at Milwaukee. The Raptors
are 6-0 this season without Lowry in the lineup and 18-2 dating back to the start of last season.
• Chris Boucher led the reserves with 17 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, in Sunday’s victory over the Sixers. He also matched a career high with five three-point field goals. Boucher has scored 15+ points
12 times this season and leads the NBA with seven double-doubles off the bench.

76ERS-RAPTORS: Philadelphia is 20-11 this season and in first place in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors are 16-15 on the season, sitting fifth
in the East. It’s the third of three meetings between the two teams during the First Half of the 2020-21 season. The season series is tied 1-1.
 Dec. 29, 2020: Philadelphia defeated Toronto, 100-93, at home.
o JOEL EMBIID led the 76ers with a stat-stuffing night, including 29 points (14-16 FT), 16 rebounds, four assists, two steals and
two blocks. TOBIAS HARRIS also tallied 20-plus points with 26 (11-20 FG), adding 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and
two blocks.
 Feb. 21, 2021: Philadelphia fell to Toronto, 110-103, on the road.
o BEN SIMMONS led the 76ers with 28 points (9-11 FG, 10-14 FT) and added nine rebounds and five assists in the loss.
Toronto’s CHRIS BOUCHER tied a career high with five three-pointers as he scored a bench-high 17 points, while FRED
VANVLEET and PASCAL SIAKAM tied for the team high with 23 points each.
RAPTORS TAKE FIRST OF TWO: The 76ers fell to the Raptors, 110-103, in the first of consecutive meetings at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Toronto won the second half, 58-48, en route to the seven-point victory.
 BEN’S BACK: Ben Simmons returned to the lineup, following a two-game absence, and led the team in scoring with 28 points (9-11 FG,
10-14 FT). He also added nine rebounds and five assists in his 39 minutes of action.
o It was Simmons’ fifth 20-point game of the season, and his second consecutive game leading the team in scoring. Each of his
20-point games have come since Jan. 23 at Detroit. In 12 games over that span, he’s averaging 19.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and
7.6 assists, while shooting .623 from the field and .711 from the free-throw line (NBA.com/stats).
o For the season, Simmons is one of five players (two in the East), averaging 15-8-7 in points, rebounds and assists. The only
other Eastern Conference player with such averages is Washington’s RUSSELL WESTBROOK, and the others are Western
Conference All-Star starters LUKA DONČIĆ, LEBRON JAMES and NIKOLA JOKIĆ (NBA.com/stats).
o Simmons’ .572 mark from the field for the season ranks 11th in the NBA, while his .671 mark from the free-throw line
represents a career high (NBA.com/stats).
 25… AGAIN: Joel Embiid turned in his 17th double-double of the season with 25 points (12-14 FT) and a season-high-tying 17 rebounds
(now done three times). He also added a pair of blocks shots in his 36 minutes. Embiid is tied with Miami’s BAM ADEBAYO and
Phoenix’s DEANDRE AYTON for 10th in the NBA with 17 double-doubles, while his average of 11.3 rebounds per game ranks eighth in
the league (NBA.com/stats).
o Embiid has now scored 25-or-more points in 14 consecutive games, dating back to Jan. 20 vs. Boston. The only 76er ever with
a longer such streak is Hall of Famer ALLEN IVERSON, who had three streaks of 15 such games and a franchise-best 27-
gamer (Elias Sports Bureau).
o During the streak, Embiid is averaging 34.5 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks over 14 contests. He’s
the only player in the league posting 30-10-3 per game over that span (NBA.com/stats).
o Embiid has tallied 34 rebounds over the last two games, posting a season-high 17 in each outing. It’s the eighth time in his
career he’s collected 17-or-more rebounds in consecutive games. The only other 76ers to do so since the 1990-91 season are
SAMUEL DALEMBERT (one streak), CLARENCE WEATHERSPOON (once), ARMEN GILLIAM (once) and Hall of Famers
DIKEMBE MUTOMBO (once) and CHARLES BARKLEY (once) (Stathead).
o He connected on 12 of his 14 free-throw attempts, giving him 249 for the season, which is second in the NBA only to Atlanta’s
TRAE YOUNG (254). Embiid leads the NBA in both free throws made (10.0) and attempted (11.7) per game
(NBA.com/stats).
 Embiid’s average of 10.0 free throws made per game is currently the seventh-best mark in NBA history, per
Stathead. No 76er have ever averaged more than 10 free throws per game for a full season.
 DANNY SWIPES: DANNY GREEN totaled a game-high five steals, adding nine points via three three-pointers against the Raptors. The
five steals matched a career high for Green, the fourth time he’s tallied five takeaways in a game. The three other occasions all came
while with San Antonio (Dec. 28, 2014, Nov. 25, 2013 and March 16, 2012), per Stathead. Green leads the team with 70 threes and is third with 36 steals. He’s one of nine players in the league with at least 70 threes
and 35 steals, joining New Orleans’ LONZO BALL, Indiana’s MALCOLM BROGDON and JUSTIN HOLIDAY, Utah’s MIKE CONLEY, Golden State’s STEPHEN CURRY, Milwaukee’s KHRIS MIDDLETON, Charlotte’s TERRY ROZIER and Toronto’s FRED VANVLEET (Stathead).

Lowry has more career triple-doubles than the other Raptors combined

• Kyle Lowry has 17 career triple-doubles, including 15 with Toronto. Lowry’s 15
triple-doubles are more than all other Raptors combined (13). With 22 points, 13
rebounds, and 10 assists Jan. 11 at Portland, Pascal Siakam became the first
Raptor other than Lowry to record a triple-double since Jose Calderon (Dec. 16,
2012 vs. Houston).

RAPTORS-BUCKS: pregame notes

Injury Report: 01/27/21 01:30 PM

MIL@TOR Toronto Raptors Anunoby, OG Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Calf; Strain
McCaw, Patrick Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Surgery – rehabilitation
Siakam, Pascal Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Swelling.

RAPTOR NOTES
• The Toronto Raptors will host the Milwaukee Bucks at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Wednesday night. This is the first of three meetings between the Raptors and Bucks during the first half of the 2020-21 season. The two teams will meet again Feb. 16-18 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, which is also Toronto’s next mini-series.
• Toronto defeated Milwaukee 114-106 on August 10 at the NBA Restart in Orlando but have lost the season-series to Milwaukee the past two seasons. Overall the Raptors are 17-7 (.708) against the Bucks since 2013-14 and defeated Milwaukee twice in the playoffs – first round (2017) and the Eastern Conference Finals (2019).
• Toronto is tied for third in the Eastern Conference over the last 10 games (Jan. 8-25) with a 6-4 record. Boston (7-3) and Milwaukee (7-3) are the only teams ahead. Toronto played an equal five games at home and on the road
during this stretch, including two sets of back-to-backs and a pair of mini-series.
LAST 10 GAMES – EASTERN CONFERENCE
Team W-L FG% 3FG% REB AST PTS OPP FG% OPP 3FG% OPP PTS
Boston 7-3 .476 .389 46.3 23.6 114.9 .452 .370 109.3
Milwaukee 7-3 .492 .365 47.3 26.8 117.4 .454 .401 111.3
Toronto 6-4 .449 .400 43.4 25.8 112.7 .455 .356 107.8
Brooklyn 6-4 .499 .403 43.9 27.0 118.5 .476 .358 118.8
• Kyle Lowry needs two points to join DeMar DeRozan (13,296) and Chris Bosh (10,275) as the only players in franchise history to score 10,000 career points. Golden State’s Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Washington’s Bradley Beal and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo are the only active players with 10,000 points with their current team. Lowry is Toronto’s all-time leader in three-pointer made (1,425), assists
(4,032) and steals (842).
• Norman Powell has scored 20+ points in three consecutive games (Jan. 22-25), including 24 points Jan. 25 at Indiana. Over the last three games, Powell is averaging a team-high 22.3 points, while shooting .455 (25-55) from
the field, .318 (7-22) from three-point range and .769 (10-13) at the free throw line. The last time Powell had a streak of three or more games with 20+ points was Feb. 28- Mar. 8, 2020 during career-high streak of five games.
• OG Anunoby has scored at least 10 points in a career-long nine consecutive games (Jan. 10-25). Anunoby scored a season-high 30 points during Toronto’s Jan. 24 win at Indiana and is averaging 16.8 points during this
stretch. He is also shooting .515 (53-103) from the field, .577 (30-52) from three-point range and .833 (15-18) at the free throw line.
• INJURY UPDATE: Pascal Siakam has missed two games (Jan. 24-25) with a swollen left knee. The injury occurred Jan. 22 vs. Miami, however, he remained in the game and finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Patrick McCaw has not played this season following surgery on his left during the summer. OG Anunoby is questionable with a left calf strain.

BUCK SHOTS

• The Bucks are beginning a three-game road trip tonight as they take on the Toronto Raptors in Tampa. After tonight’s game, Milwaukee will finish the road trip with a back-to-back against the Pelicans and Hornets on Friday and Saturday.
• The Bucks got back in the win column, and improved to 10-6 on the season, with a 129-115 win over the Hawks at Fiserv Forum on Sunday, which marked Milwaukee’s eighth win of the season by 10 or more points. The Bucks are currently second in the NBA in points per game differential this season at 9.1 ppg.
• In Sunday’s win, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 27 points, a season-high 14 rebounds and eight assists. Antetokounmpo also passed Bucks great Marques Johnson (10,980) for sixth on the Bucks all-time scoring list and became the sixth Buck to join the
11,000-point club (now at 11,007 career points).
• Bobby Portis scored a season-high 21 points (9-16 FG) against the Hawks on Sunday, marking his second 20-point game of the season and his 11th game scoring in double figures. Portis, who is averaging 11.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season, is also shooting a career-high 54% from the field and a career-high 42% from three.
• Brook Lopez extended his season-long streak of scoring in double figures to four games after posting 12 points on Sunday vs. Atlanta. In this four-game stretch, Lopez is averaging 12.8 points per game (on 46% shooting) after averaging 9.2 points per game (on 42% shooting) in his first 12 games of the season.
• In Sunday’s win, the Bucks shot 54.9% as a team, marking their NBA-high eighth game of the season shooting 50% or better. Milwaukee enters tonight’s game not only leading the league in FG% at 49%, but also in scoring (120.1 ppg) and offensive rating (117.9

RAPTORS-HEAT PREGAME NOTES

Injury report as of 5:30 p.m. Friday.

MIA@TOR

Miami Heat Bradley, Avery Out Health and Safety Protocols
Butler, Jimmy Out Health and Safety Protocols
Dragic, Goran Probable Injury/Illness – Right Foot; Contusion
Herro, Tyler Questionable Injury/Illness – Neck; Spasms
Leonard, Meyers Out Injury/Illness – Left Shoulder; Strain
Silva, Chris Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Hip Flexor; Strain
Vincent, Gabe Probable Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Soreness
Toronto Raptors Lowry, Kyle Questionable Injury/Illness – Right Foot; Soreness
McCaw, Patrick Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Surgery; rehab .Siakam, Pascal Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Groin; Soreness

Update: Siakam will play, Lowry will not.

• The Toronto Raptors conclude a five-game homestand (Jan. 14-22) Friday night when they host the Miami Heat at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Following Friday’s contest, the Raptors will play 11 of their next 15 games
on the road (Jan. 24 – Feb. 19). The stretch begins with a two-game “series” Sunday and Monday at Indiana – it’s the only series in the first half Toronto will play on back-to-back days.
• Kyle Lowry needs 14 points to join DeMar DeRozan (13,296) and Chris Bosh (10,275) as the only players in franchise history to score 10,000 career points. Golden State’s Steph Curry (16,812) and Klay Thompson (11,995), Portland’s Damian Lillard (15,281), Washington’s Bradley Beal (11,774) and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (10,955) are the only active players with 10,000 points with their current team. Lowry is Toronto’s all-time leader in three-pointer made (1,424), assists (4,031) and steals (841).
• Fred VanVleet has made at least one three-pointer in a franchise record 46 consecutive games (Dec. 20, 2019 – Jan. 20, 2021), passing the previous record of 38 games set by C.J. Miles (Dec. 10, 2017 – March 15, 2018). VanVleet and Kyle Lowry lead the Raptors with 47 and 37 three-point field goals, respectively,
this season. The duo has combined to shoot .362 (84-for-232) from beyond the arc through 14 games.
• OG Anunoby has matched a career high with six consecutive games (Jan. 10-20) of at least 10 points. He is averaging 15.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists during this stretch, which includes an 18-point performance Jan. 20 vs. Miami. Anunoby is shooting .478 (32-67) from the field, and leads the Raptors with
19 three-point field goals, over the last six games. The last time Anunoby had six straight double-figure scoring games was Feb. 25 – Mar. 8, 2020.
• The Raptors rank second in the NBA, behind Philadelphia (16.8), averaging 16.6 fast-break points. Toronto has finished with double-digit fast-break points in 12-of-14 games, including four games with 20 or more.
• Chris Boucher has scored 15+ points in eight games this season, something he did seven times in 62 contests in 2019-20. Boucher currently ranks fourth among reserves in the NBA (min. 10 games off bench) averaging 15.5 points – behind Jordan Clarkson (17.6), Shake Milton (16.2) and Terrence Ross (15.8).
• Kyle Lowry collected a season-high 10 rebounds Wednesday against the Heat. Lowry has now grabbed 5+ rebounds in his last 11 games played (Dec. 29 – Jan. 20), one game shy of his career high. Lowry recorded at least five boards in 12 consecutive games Nov. 14 – Dec. 10, 2017. Over his last 11 games, Lowry is averaging a team-high 7.6 rebounds and led the Raptors on the glass three times.
• The start time for Sunday’s game at Indiana is now 1 p.m. not 3:30 p.m. Sportsnet will still broadcast the game and it will remain televised on NBA TV in the U.S. TSN 1050 Toronto will carry the game on radio.
• The Raptors waived centre Alex Len on Tuesday. Len appeared in seven games (two starts) this season, averaging 2.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 10.8 minutes.

Raptors-Heat pregame notes

TEAM NOTES
• The Toronto Raptors continue a five-game homestand (Jan. 14-22) Wednesday night when they host the Miami Heat at Amalie Arena in Tampa. The Raptors have won three in a row. Toronto and Miami will also
play each other Friday as part of the NBA’s “series” model aimed to reduce travel this season. The Raptors swept their first “series” last week vs. Charlotte. Toronto is scheduled to play three more “series” in the first
half: Jan. 24-25 at Indiana, Feb. 16 & Feb. 18 at Milwaukee and Feb. 21 & Feb. 23 vs. Philadelphia.
• Kyle Lowry needs 22 points to join DeMar DeRozan (13,296) and Chris Bosh (10,275) as the only players in franchise history to score 10,000 career points. Golden State’s Steph Curry (16,786) and Klay Thompson (11,995), Portland’s Damian Lillard (15,281), Washington’s Bradley Beal (11,774) and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (10,955) are the only active players with 10,000 points with their current team. Lowry is Toronto’s all-time leader in three-pointer made (1,423), assists (4,024) and steals (840).
• Fred VanVleet has made at least one three-pointer in a franchise record 45 consecutive games (Dec. 20, 2019 – Jan. 18, 2021), passing the previous record of 38 games set by C.J. Miles (Dec. 10, 2017 – Mar. 15, 2018). VanVleet and Kyle Lowry lead the Raptors with 44 and 36 three-point field goals, respectively, this season. The duo has combined to shoot .374 (80-for-214) from beyond the arc through 13 games.
• During Toronto’s win Monday night vs. Dallas, the Raptors held the Mavericks to zero fast-break points. It was the first time Toronto held an opponent without a fast-break point since Oct. 30, 2017 at Portland. The
Raptors currently rank sixth in the NBA holding opponents to 8.7 fast-break points per game. On the offensive end, Toronto leads the NBA averaging 17.1 fast-break points. Kyle Lowry is averaging a team-high 5.3 points on the fast-break this season.
• Toronto’s bench has contributed 52.7 points and 18.3 rebounds during the team’s current three-game winning streak, including 55 points each of the last two games (Jan. 16-18). Chris Boucher, Norman Powell and Stanley Johnson have combined to average 45.3 points over the last three contests, shooting .586 (44-75) from the field, .475 (19-40) from three-point range and .852 (29-34) at the free throw line. The trio has also combined for 47 rebounds and 11 blocks during this stretch.
• Chris Boucher scored 21 points Monday vs. the Mavericks. Boucher has now tied the franchise record for consecutive 15-point games off the bench with six (Jan. 8-18). He’s just the fourth Raptor to accomplish this feat, joining Jalen Rose, Lou Williams (twice), and most recently, Norman Powell (Jan. 15-24, 2020). Boucher has scored 15+ points eight times overall, already surpassing last season’s total of seven games. He is averaging team highs of 20.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks over the last six games
(Jan. 8-18) with three double-doubles.
• The Raptors waived centre Alex Len on Tuesday. Len appeared in seven games this season

Raptors at Trail Blazers pregame notes

Nick Nurse admits Pascal Siakam was not himself in the bubble — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

“I just think he lost his bounce. He didn’t look as athletic or as strong or as fast.”
Nick Nurse admits Pascal Siakam was not himself in the bubble — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

GANTER: Raptors have their swagger back now — Toronto Sun

It’s a best of three now. The Celtics were a half second away from taking a 3-0 stranglehold on the Raptors in Game 3. Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby said ‘Not just yet’ stealing Game 3 and a completely different looking Raptors unit took the floor for Game 4. This time there was no buzzer-beater […]
GANTER: Raptors have their swagger back now — Toronto Sun

It’s a best of three now.

The Celtics were a half second away from taking a 3-0 stranglehold on the Raptors in Game 3.

Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby said ‘Not just yet’ stealing Game 3 and a completely different looking Raptors unit took the floor for Game 4.

This time there was no buzzer-beater needed as the Raptors pulled away for a 100-93 win to even up the series.

The Raptors were the clear aggressors in this game continually building leads but to the Celtics credit continually having to re-establish those leads after the Celts response.

But there was a different look in Toronto from the very outset.

No one between games was willing to say the Raptor swagger was definitively back given how little of Game 3 they actually controlled but it’s a much safer statement following Game 4.

The three-point game, a staple of their offence was back led by that stellar backfourt of Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry who were a combined 9-for-20 from distance. Serge Ibaka off the bench was a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc.

Were it not for Pascal Siakam’s 2-for-13 from distance, the team average would have been other worldly.

HOW ABOUT SERGE

Ibaka really isn’t getting the credit he deserves in this series.

With Gasol not quite himself until about Game 3, it was Ibaka who was so important just to give the Raptors a chance in Game 2.

With Gasol looking more like himself in Game 3 and again in Game 4 (despite the foul trouble) Ibaka has ccontinued to play big minutes as Nurse’s first or second man off the bench.

Nurse has been talking up Ibaka’s shooting since the re-start began and for good reason. Ibaka has been averaging just under 16 points a game in the playoffs for the Raptors in just over 24 minutes.

“Serge plays like that, we’re always a better team,” Lowry said afterwards. “When our bigs played the way they did tonight — Marc (Gasol) hit a big shot for us, Serge does like he did tonight, it gives us a big lift.”

NOT CELTICS’ NIGHT

The Celtics have been so good through three games it was almost unbelievable watching them shooting makeable three after makeable three Saturday night and missing.

The Celtics were just 7-for-35 from three in the game with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, their two big gunners going a combined 3-for-17.

Obviously credit the Raptors defence but sometimes the ball just isn’t falling and it seemed like that was the case for a good portion of the night for

the Celtics, but Brown in particular.

The Raptors on the other hand hit 17 threes in the game and while they weren’t real happy about their mid-range game – “We shot like crap from two” was how Fred VanVleet put it, they had a decent night from behind the arc. Lowry still thinks they can be better overall.

Article content continued

“I still think we’re not close to where we could be shooting it at but we made some threes in a good stretch in the third quarter, made some big ones in the fourth,” Lowry said. “You know, the way they play defence is: they contest really, really hard, but we’ve just got to shoot the ball with confidence and continue to shoot the ball with confidence and keep getting better. If we get one of those games where we get really, really hot, it makes a big difference.”

STEVENS’ TAKE

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was rather adamant that the Celtics did carry a bit of a grudge into Saturday’s game after the way Game 3 ended.

“I don’t think there’s any question that we were (angry) and guys played exceptionally hard and did a lot of good things,” he said defending his team. “But the other team is out there, too. And they made it very tough on us. When you miss, as we know, it can kinda cascade on you, and that’s what happened tonight. We gotta handle that better. I was pretty encouraged at halftime. We were shooting awful and it was 49-49. But it’s part of it. Gotta play better, gotta shoot better, gotta feel better. Gotta be ready to go on Monday night.”

Raptors’ long-overdue playoff meeting with Celtics should live up to the hype — Toronto Sun

For a little while there it felt like this Raptors-Celtics series would be over before it started. Read More
Raptors’ long-overdue playoff meeting with Celtics should live up to the hype — Toronto Sun

Raptors complete the sweep but Lowry injury has everyone a little nervous — Toronto Sun

The first round is in the rearview mirror now for the Raptors, but the path ahead potentially got a little tougher. The Raptors did the expected and handled the undermanned Nets in quick fashion for the first sweep in franchise history, but nine minutes into the Game 4 knockout punch, a 150-122 win, the Raptors’ […]
Raptors complete the sweep but Lowry injury has everyone a little nervous — Toronto Sun

Raptors complete the sweep but Lowry injury has everyone a little nervous

Author of the article:Mike GanterPublishing date:Aug 24, 2020 • Last Updated 11 hours ago • 4 minute read

Raptors guard Norman Powell dunks against Jarrett Allen of the Nets during the second half in Game 4 of the first round of the NBA playoffs at The Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020. KIM KLEMENT / POOL / Getty Images

The first round is in the rearview mirror now for the Raptors, but the path ahead potentially got a little tougher.

The Raptors did the expected and handled the undermanned Nets in quick fashion for the first sweep in franchise history, but nine minutes into the Game 4 knockout punch, a 150-122 win, the Raptors’ worst fears may have been realized.

Kyle Lowry, on the move, stepped on Chris Chiozza’s foot and turned his left ankle just as he reached the Nets three-point line. Lowry, as is his custom, was up to argue the lack of a foul call on the play but did so limping. He stayed in the game for the next possession but at the first stoppage jogged, again limping, directly to the locker room, not to be seen again.

Without imaging equipment at the arena in Orlando, Lowry was taken off-site (but still in the bubble) to have the ankle looked at. He is scheduled to have an MRI on the arch of his left foot on Monday.

Raptors guard Kyle Lowry battles for the ball against Jarrett Allen of the Nets during the first half in Game 4 of the first round of the NBA playoffs at The Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020. KIM KLEMENT / POOL/Getty Images

Head coach Nick Nurse knows exactly what losing Lowry, going into a series with Boston, will mean.

“I won’t be very comfortable without Kyle out there, I will say that. He’s certainly a big engine for us,” Nurse said. “But I would say, I think that we play a system or a style where lots of guys are involved and it’s not like, yeah, we’re going to miss all those great, great things Kyle does if he doesn’t play, but somebody else has got to take shots and play defence and play tough and do the things that he does to make up for it. Or we do it by committee, that’s probably a better way.”

But Nurse was not ready to concede anything to the injury gods just yet.

“It would hurt us a lot,” Nurse said. “All I can say is, you guys know how big a cog he is to this whole thing. He’s our most experienced, toughest leader we got. I don’t want to speculate and answer a million questions on whether he’s playing or not until we know whether he’s playing or not and we’ve got a few days for that.

“But I would imagine this: It’s going to be a hell of an injury to keep him off the floor. It’s not going to be a little thing. He’s going to try to figure it out. He played, I don’t know how many, 14 or 16 straight playoff games last year with a totally messed up left thumb, running through the Finals last year. It’s going to take something pretty serious to keep him out.”

Lowry’s absence for the bulk of Game 4 further complicated things for the Raptors who were already making do without Fred VanVleet, who picked up three quick fouls in the first seven minutes and would not return to the game until the third quarter.
Throw in some early foul trouble for reserve guards Norm Powell and Terence Davis and one might think the Raptors were in a little trouble.

But if this team has shown one consistent trait this year, it is being able to absorb a blow that might dismantle others and find a way to win. Sunday night that trait was in full view.

Powell and Serge Ibaka came off the bench and helped the Raptors put up 77 in that first half, which is a franchise record for a playoff game.

“Breakin’ records.”

First postseason series sweep ☑️ pic.twitter.com/DlKoLZ9Ryd— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 24, 2020

Powell finished with a playoff-best 29 points in 24 minutes on 9-of-14 shooting. Right with him was Ibaka, who 27 points and a team-best 15 rebounds in just 20 minutes.
VanVleet returned to the floor to start the second half but wound up playing just 19 minutes.

Playing without key men is nothing new to the Raptors. They’ve done it all season with everyone on the team missing time at some point due to injury with the exception of OG Anunoby and Davis.

“One thing about us, we know we have a lot of guys who can play,” Ibaka said after the game. “We don’t really worry about who’s going to score 30 or 40 every night. We are not that type of team where one guy is going to score 30 or 40. So we just come and try to play basketball: Move the ball, whoever’s hot, we’re going to go with him, and that’s why we are always there, even when we have guys down.”https://www.youtube.com/embed/AhS3CnGZn2k?embed_config={%27relatedChannels%27:%20[],%27autonav%27:true}&autoplay=0&playsinline=1

As good as Powell and Ibaka were, the Raptors bench as a whole deserved a ton of credit in this one. It scored 100 points with contributions and scoring from all eight reserves that took the floor — a Raptors and an NBA record.

The old playoff mark was 86 set by Dallas. The all-time mark for bench points from a team in a game was set by Golden State with 94 in 1977.

The Raptors win sets up the much-anticipated second-round matchup with the Boston Celtics who themselves completed the sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers earlier in the day. The two Atlantic-division foes have never met in the playoffs.

The Celtics lost guard Gordon Hayward with an ankle injury of his own earlier in the playoff round but they still boast a tough lineup with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, and now likely Marcus Smart joining the starting five with Hayward out.

Already this season the two teams have played four highly entertaining games with the Celtics winning three including one since the re-start.

RAPTORS-CELTICS SCHEDULE (Best-of-seven series)

Game 1 – Thursday, August 27

Game 2 – Saturday, August 29

Game 3 – Monday, August 31

Game 4 – Wednesday, September 2

Game 5* – Friday, September 4

Game 6* – Sunday, September 6

Game 7* – Tuesday, September 8

mganter@postmedia.com

WOLSTAT: Ibaka was massive in Raptors sweep of Nets — Toronto Sun

Serge Ibaka didn’t have to start to finish off the Brooklyn Nets. Read More
WOLSTAT: Ibaka was massive in Raptors sweep of Nets — Toronto Sun

Serge Ibaka didn’t have to start to finish off the Brooklyn Nets.

The Raptors big man had his third strong game in the four first-round contests on Sunday, completely dominating the Nets at both ends of the floor.

WOLSTAT: Ibaka was massive in Raptors sweep of Nets

A game after hauling down 13 rebounds off the bench, three behind Bismack Biyombo’s reserve record, Ibaka had 15. He also scored 27 points, which would have been a new franchise scoring mark for a reserve, except Norman Powell bested him with 29 as the team set an NBA bench mark with 100 points from the pine. Ibaka hit each of his three three-point attempts for the second game in a row and Brooklyn had no answers for him.

It was the fourth time Ibaka had scored at least 20 in a non-starting role, extending his Raptors record, and he was the first player with at least 27 and 15 off the bench since Mychal Thompson in 1988.

Ibaka collected his fifth playoff double-double as a Raptor, which tied him with Chris Bosh (who granted did it in far fewer games) and two behind Pascal Siakam, who also posted a double-double on Sunday.

Heading into Game 4, his best of the series, Toronto had already been 27.1 points per 100 possessions better with Ibaka on the floor compared to when he was on the bench against the Nets.

Ibaka even handed out eight assists in the series — many of them quite pretty helpers — against only three turnovers.

Starting centre Marc Gasol was pretty average against Brooklyn for the most part, and much more will be expected out of him in the next round against the Boston Celtics. But it’s unclear if that’s a good matchup, since Boston is small and quick. It’s quite possible that Ibaka will be called on quite a bit in what projects to be a razor-thin series.

Ibaka said post-game that Boston presents many challenges.

“We know they’re a great team. They’re playing one of the best basketball right now, and they have confidence,” he said. “We know it’s not going to be easier. We have to come to play our best basketball against them.”

The Celtics had their way with Toronto earlier this month in Orlando, with Ibaka turning in perhaps his worst game of the year, but the big man was decent-to-excellent in the other three meetings, though Boston won three of the four.

Ibaka will become an unrestricted free agent whenever this season ends, so it’s possible these are his final games as a Raptor. If that’s the case, he will have left quite the legacy with his big playoff moments. Ibaka hit some massive shots and made some huge defensive stands against the likes of Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Golden State. He’ll surely be called on again as these playoffs continue.

SIXERS FALL SHORT

When Kawhi Leonard’s miraculous four-bounce shot fell last year, the Raptors were elated to survive what would end up being their toughest series on the way to the NBA title.

With young superstars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, plus Jimmy Butler, JJ Redick and Tobias Harris, Philadelphia seemed to be on the verge of being a major force for years to come. But much like when the Raptors lost to the Sixers back in 2001 with the future looking so bright for Toronto before it all fell apart, Philadelphia seems poised to be going down that road too.

They meekly bowed out against Boston on Sunday, getting swept. Head coach Brett Brown is expected to be fired. Embiid has once again said he needs to be better and Simmons is trying to get healthy. Oh, and they project to have one of the biggest payrolls in league history next year, despite letting Butler and Redick go and oddly adding big man Al Horford.

Not great, Bob.

Meanwhile, Boston looks great and Jaylen Brown said after the sweep when asked if the Celtics had a better team than last year’s group that fell in five games in Round 2 to Milwaukee: “I think we’re a better team and I think we’ll prove it.”

The Sixers probably think they’re a better team than they showed too, but don’t expect them to get a chance to prove that. There will be changes coming.

LUKA MAGIC

In Sunday’s thrilling overtime win against Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers, young superstar Luka Doncic became only the third player with a 40-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist playoff game. Charles Barkley did it in 1993 for Phoenix, Oscar Robertson in 1963 with Cincinnati.

Doncic also joined Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kawhi and Damian Lillard as the only players to score at least 40 in a post-season game and hit a buzzer-beater, according to Basketball-reference. Only Magic Johnson posted consecutive playoff triple-doubles at a younger age than Doncic.

Oh, and Doncic did it on a severely sprained ankle.

It never made sense that three teams decided to pass on the Slovenian sensation when given the chance and it never will.

AROUND THE RIM

Paul George is not having much of a series against Dallas. He’s averaging just 15.3 points per game on 29% shooting … Toronto improved to 10-7 in potential series closeout games and now only the Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves have never swept a four-game series … NBA coach of the year Nick Nurse now has a 20-8 playoff record and will tie Dwane Casey for the team record with his next win.

Raptors revel in Fred VanVleet’s backcourt shot, Game 3 win over Nets — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

After Fred VanVleet rained 3-pointers – including multiple DEEP 3s – on the Nets in Game 1, Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn was asked about defending the Raptors guard like Damian Lillard.
Raptors revel in Fred VanVleet’s backcourt shot, Game 3 win over Nets — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

By Dan Feldman Aug 21, 2020, 4:26 PM EDT Leave a comment

After Fred VanVleet rained 3-pointers – including multiple DEEP 3s – on the Nets in Game 1, Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn was asked about defending the Raptors guard like Damian Lillard.

“Historically and analytically, VanFleet [sic] hasn’t made those shots at the clip that he made them at,” Vaughn said. “So, it’s a little different with Lillard, and he’s proven he can do that time and time again from deep range.”

There’s something to playing the odds.

But VanVleet – who has risen from undrafted to near-star – keeps beating the odds. VanVleet sunk a backcourt shot to end the first half today.

Time to at least learn his name.

And remember the Raptors’.

The defending champions beat the Nets 117-92 Game 3 Friday. Toronto now leads the first-round series, 3-0.

All 136 teams that took a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series won it. Up 3-0 for the first time in franchise history, the Raptors will look to eliminate Brooklyn in Game 4 Sunday.

After an ugly Game 2 win, Toronto enjoyed cruising to this victory. So many players contributed.

Pascal Siakam (26 points, eight rebounds and five assists) played his excellent all-around game. VanVleet (22 points on 6-of-10 3-point shooting with with five assists) showed his typical steadiness. Kyle Lowry (11 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals) made his usual subtle mark on the game. Serge Ibaka (20 points and 13 rebounds) brought his productivity off the bench.

Without Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors might not have the same upside as last season. But they have found a winning formula and repeatedly execute it.

Especially against the decimated Nets.

Tyler Johnson (23 points on 5-of-9 3-point shooting) got hot. But Brooklyn couldn’t get much going. Too often overlooked, Jarrett Allen didn’t even attempt a single shot. He’s a play finisher at the rim, so his lack of offensive involvement reveals bigger problems.

Tags: Damian Lillard, Fred VanVleet, Jarrett Allen, Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka, Tyler Johnson

Category: NBA, Toronto Raptors, Pascal Siakam