The Orlando Magic selected versatile Duke forward Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 pick, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Gonzaga’ s Chet Holmgren second, and the Houston Rockets rounded out their young Big 3 with the third pick, drafting Auburn’ s Jabari Smith Jr. Banchero, a forward ESPN likened to both Ben Simmons and Michael Beasley, joins Cole Anthony, Franz…
After days of waiting and more than a dozen misses in a row, Will Barton finally seized his moment. It came in a 116-101 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night made the sequence that much sweeter. With consecutive 3-pointers late in the third quarter, Barton surpassed J.R. Smith to become the Nuggets’ all-time…
Houston Rockets Garuba, Usman Out Injury/Illness – Left Wrist; Fracture Gordon, Eric Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Heel; Soreness Nix, Daishen Out G League – Two-Way Queen, Trevelin Out G League – Two-Way
Toronto Raptors
Bonga, Isaac Out G League – On Assignment Champagnie, Justin Out G League – Two-Way Johnson, David Out G League – Two-Way VanVleet, Fred Out Injury/Illness – Left Groin; Soreness
GAME #54 – TORONTO RAPTORS (30-23) at HOUSTON ROCKETS (15-39) THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 – 8 P.M. (ET) – TOYOTA CENTER TV: SPORTSNET – RADIO: SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN
• The Toronto Raptors (30-23) finish a three-game road trip (Feb. 7-10) Thursday night when they visit the Houston Rockets (15-39). The Raptors have won a season-high seven straight games (Jan. 29 – Feb. 9) – the longest active winning streak in the NBA. Toronto has won seven in a row for the first time since March 3 – Aug. 5, 2020. The Raptors are 7-3 in the second game of a back-to-back, after going 3-13 last season. • Pascal Siakam finished with 27 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists in 40 minutes Wednesday night at Oklahoma City. Siakam has now tallied 20+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists in a single-season franchise record nine games. Chris Bosh (8) previously held the record set during the 2008-09 campaign. Siakam is currently averaging 21.6 points, and career highs of 8.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists, in 40 games this season. He is one of just five players in the NBA averaging 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, James Harden, and Nikola Jokic. • The Raptors defeated Oklahoma City 117-98 last night and have now won a season-high seven straight games (Jan. 29 – Feb. 9). Toronto shot .511 (45-88) from the field and improve to 7-1 this year when shooting 50 percent or better. The Raptors also went perfect (14-14) from the free-throw line for the third time this season. All five Raptors starters are averaging 15+ points over the last seven games – Gary Trent Jr. (24.6), Pascal Siakam (24.4), Fred VanVleet (20.6), OG Anunoby (16.0) and Scottie Barnes (15.6). • Fred VanVleet has set a single-season franchise record with five-or-more three-point field goals in 17 games this season. VanVleet currently ranks second in the NBA in three-pointer made (191), behind only Stephen Curry (236). Kyle Lowry holds the Raptors record with 238 threes during the 2017-18 season. • The Raptors currently lead the NBA in deflections per game (17.9) and rank third in steals (9.2). Gary Trent Jr. ranks second in the NBA in steals (1.91) and has recorded a career high-tying five steals in five games this season. The only Raptors in franchise history to record more games with 5+ steals in a single season are Doug Christie (8) during the 1996-97 season and Alvin Robertson (7) in 1995-96. • Fred VanVleet has been named a reserve for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. VanVleet becomes just the eighth player in franchise history to earn an All-Star selection. He is the first undrafted player in the NBA to be named an All-Star since Ben Wallace in 2006. VanVleet will also compete in the MTN Dew 3-Point Contest. • Sophomore Precious Achiuwa and rookie Scottie Barnes have been selected to participate in the 2022 Rising Stars, which will be played on Feb. 18 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland as part of NBA All-Star 2022. Toronto will have two players in the showcase event for the first time since Andrea Bargnani and Jamario Moon in 2008. Barnes will also participate in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. POSSIBLE STARTERS F – SCOTTIE BARNES #4
MIN: 36.0 REB: 7.7 AST: 3.4 STL: 1.0 TO: 1.9 BLK: 0.8 PTS: 14.8 • Contributed 17 points, four assists and two rebounds in 31 minutes Feb. 9 at Oklahoma City. • Leads all rookies in minutes (36.0), ranks second in rebounds (7.7) and fourth in points (14.8). • Has scored 15+ points in a season-high tying four consecutive games (Feb. 3-9), averaging 17.3 points. F – OG ANUNOBY #3
MIN: 37.2 REB: 5.8 AST: 2.7 STL: 1.6 TO: 1.8 BLK: 0.6 PTS: 18.4 • Finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season Feb. 9 at Oklahoma City. • Has scored 20+ points in a single-season career-high 18 games; something he did 13 times last season. • Averaging 9.7 rebounds over the last three games (Feb. 4-9); has grabbed 10+ boards in two-of-three games. C – PASCAL SIAKAM #43
• Recorded his team-leading 17th double-double with 27 points, 16 rebounds and five assists Feb. 9 at OKC. • Averaging 24.4 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 5.4 assists over the last seven games (Jan. 29 – Feb. 9). • Has earned 17 double-doubles this season, one shy of his single-season career high set in 2018-19 (18). G – GARY TRENT JR. #33
MIN: 34.8 REB: 2.7 AST: 2.0 STL: 1.9 TO: 1.0 BLK: 0.3 PTS: 18.2 • Scored 16 points Feb. 9 at Oklahoma City; added two assists and a career high-tying five steals in 34 minutes. • Ranks second in the NBA in steals per game (1.91) and tied for fifth in total deflections (148). • Averaging a team-high 23.8 points and shooting .476 (50-105) from three-point range over the last 11 games. G – FRED VANVLEET #23
MIN: 38.6 REB: 4.6 AST: 7.1 STL: 1.7 TO: 2.7 BLK: 0.5 PTS: 21.6 • Tallied 21 points, six assists and two steals in 36 minutes of action Feb. 9 at Oklahoma City. • Ranks second in the NBA in total deflections (188), second in three-pointers (191) and sixth in steals (80). • Has scored 20+ points in five consecutive games (Feb. 1-9), averaging 21.8 points during this streak. .Listed out for the game in Houston (sore left groin).
2021-22 RECORDS W-L EAST WEST OVERALL 30-23 21-14 9-9 HOME 16-12 10-7 6-5 AWAY 14-11 11-7 3-4 OVERTIME 2-1 2-1 0-0
NEXT GAME DETAILS Opponent: Denver Nuggets Date: Saturday, February 12 Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. (ET) Venue: Scotiabank Arena Television: TSN Radio: TSN 1050 Toronto SERIES RECAP VS. DENVER OVERALL HOME ROAD 2020-21 1-1 1-0 0-1 ALL-TIME 20-30 13-12 7-18 STREAKS Lost 1 Won 2 Lost 4 LAST WIN: Mar. 24, 2021 (135-111) LAST HOME WIN: Mar. 24, 2021 (135-111) LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: +27 (Mar. 23, 2007) LARGEST MARGIN OF DEFEAT: -39 (Dec. 2, 2008) LAST TIME VS. DENVER GAME 63 – APRIL 29, 2021 DENVER 121, TORONTO 111 DENVER – Nikola Jokic had 19 points and 11 rebounds in just three quarters to lead the Denver Nuggets past the Toronto Raptors 121-111 … Michael Porter Jr. scored 23 points for the Nuggets, who had seven players score in double figures and used a 31-8 run over the third and fourth quarters to win their fourth straight … Denver improved to 8-1 since Jamal Murray went down with a torn ACL in his left knee on April 12 … Without its starting backcourt, Denver has relied on reserves Facu Campazzo, P.J. Dozier and Shaquille Harrison, a two-way player getting a chance to make an impact … He did Thursday with a season-high 11 points, and Campazzo followed up his first double-double on Wednesday night with 12 points … Jokic’s double-double was his 53rd of the season … OG Anunoby scored 25 points for the Raptors, Kyle Lowry had 20, and Malachi Flynn, who started in place of injured Fred VanVleet (hip), pitched in with 16 … The Nuggets led by six in the second quarter and again late in the third, but Toronto rallied both times to tie the game … It was 87-85 after three quarters … Denver scored the first 12 points of the fourth and held the Raptors to just a pair of 3-pointers by Lowry in the first 5:40 of the fourth … Lowry’s flagrant foul on P.J. Dozier led to a six-point possession for Denver and a 21-point lead. 1 2 3 4 TOT TORONTO 33 24 28 26 111 DENVER 30 29 28 34 121
Garuba, Usman Out Injury/Illness – Left Wrist; Fracture Gordon, Eric Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Heel; Soreness Nix, Daishen Out G League – Two-Way Queen, Trevelin Out G League – Two-Way
Toronto Raptors
Bonga, Isaac Out G League – On Assignment Champagnie, Justin Out G League – Two-Way Johnson, David Out G League – Two-Way VanVleet, Fred Out Injury/Illness – Left Groin; Soreness