Raptors put it all together in pre-season finale vs. Nets
As far as dress rehearsals go, it was about as informative a game that doesn’t count could get for the Toronto Raptors, as they wrapped up the pre-season with a 119-112 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
Fans at Scotiabank Arena and at home — those who weren’t locked in on the Toronto Blue Jays’ unfortunate Game 5 collapse — got to see a bit of everything from the Raptors, who were led by Scottie Barnes’ all-around effort. The fifth-year forward finished with a team-high 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.
For those who were concerned by Barnes’ shot diet and overall offensive process during the exhibition schedule (he was 6-of-30 from the field and had shot 3-of-10 in the paint until Friday), it was a reminder of the 24-year-old’s prowess. And for those like Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, seeing that type of performance from Barnes was never a matter of if, just when.
“Nothing really changes, I know who Scottie is, I know what Scottie can bring,” the bench boss explained post-game. “He’s just figuring out his body, his rhythm … I thought that he was himself today, and that’s very encouraging for our whole team.”
Barnes was noticeably more decisive on the offensive end against Brooklyn, namely in his effort to attack inside. All his made field goals came in the paint and that effort bore fruit in more ways than one. He also drew 12 free throws, of which he made 11, none more important than the final two he drilled that recaptured the lead for Toronto at the 1:31 mark of the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, the rim-pressure he’d been applying all night paid dividends when it mattered most. With just a three-point lead in the final minute and the ball in hand, Brandon Ingram — who finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals — drew a double and found Barnes at the nail, who then promptly drove down the lane, attracked two defenders as well, and dropped an overhead pass to a wide-open RJ Barrett under the basket for a bit of game-sealing breathing room as he finished with 25 points.
“I really liked the force Scottie Barnes played with on both ends of the floor,” Rajakovic added. “Creating deflections, steals, pushing the pace in transition. He was really our energy booster in the first half when a lot of good things happened for us.”
Speaking of the first half, it was about as ho-hum as the Raptors could’ve asked for against a young Nets team. Toronto forced 16 to just five of its own as scoring came at ease thanks to an abundance of transition opportunities. The team finished 13-of-19 on the fastbreak for 38 points. Leading that charge, aside from Barnes, was Immanuel Quickley, who chipped in 12 of his 18 points for the night in the first half as he shot 4-of-7 from distance and dished out eight assists. He’d finish with 10 dimes to secure the double-double by game’s end against a Nets team he’s enjoyed playing against as a member of the Raptors.
All of which earned the Raptors a 72-56 lead at the break in a game they led by as many as 18 points.
The second half, however, was a different story. Brooklyn cleaned up its sloppy play, turning the ball over just seven times through the final 24 minutes, while drilling six triples in the third quarter. With the taps on Toronto’s transition opportunities running dry, the offence struggled mightily — a frame in which the Raptors shot 10-of-23 from the field and went 0-of-6 from downtown.
It’s no secret that scoring against set defences will be a concern this season, evidenced by a lacklustre 84.9 points per 100 half-court plays against the Nets on Friday.
Come the fourth quarter, and the Nets’ deficit entirely evaporated thanks to a 16-1 run — rookie Ben Saraf giving Brooklyn its first lead of the game on a spinning layup over Quickley at the 7:05 mark. The Raptors’ lead guard quickly (pardon the pun) responded, however, as he drilled the first of three crucial triples in the final frame.
While it didn’t exactly ignite the offence, it sparked a run of key moments by Toronto’s starting lineup, sans Jakob Poeltl, who exited early in the fourth due to low-back stiffness (in a precautionary move, per Rajakovic) after putting up 10 points and 10 rebounds. After Quickley’s three-pointer came back-to-back Barnes and-one drives as the Raptors retook the lead, a Barrett triple, more Barnes free throws, and then an iso-pull-up triple from Ingram that proved to be the dagger.
For a team with real expectations, it was an encouraging display, albeit against a less-than-stellar Nets team. In an Eastern Conference that’s ripe for the taking, beating the bad teams — especially in clutch situations — will be important for stacking together necessary wins. And on Friday night, the Raptors got what they needed out of their four expected starters, especially when it mattered most. Offensive aggression and decisiveness from Barnes, facilitating and outside volume from Quickley, filling in the gaps on offence while playing mistake-free defence from Barrett and much-needed creation in high-leverage moments from Ingram.
And just like that, the pre-season is over and Toronto walks away with a 4-2 record.
Up next
Now the hope is that such displays continue on Wednesday when the games finally start to count. The Raptors will open their regular-season campaign on the road against Trae Young, Canadian Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the Atlanta Hawks.
The post Raptors put it all together in pre-season finale vs. Nets first appeared on Raptors Republic.