Raptors fend off Nets to keep their winning streak alive

On the first leg of a back-to-back, Toronto had Brooklyn on their schedule, and although Toronto ultimately got the win, Brooklyn made them work for it, harder than you would expect from a team with their level of talent. Toronto showed poise last night during the closing stretches of the game, where it seemed that Brooklyn was going to overtake them, and get the upset. Toronto did what good teams have to be able to do, and that’s battle through adversity and win close games.

Early on it seemed like it was going to be another blowout on the menu for Toronto, as they ran up a 12-0 lead to begin the game, and Sandro Mamukelashvilli who was starting for the resting Jakob Poeltl showed off the different things he can do as the teams center. In transition, Mamu spotted up for a three and knocked it down, then on the next play he slipped a screen he set for Immanuel Quickley, got the ball on the subsequent short roll, and found RJ Barrett in the dunkers spot for a lob that was finished with a layup and caused Brooklyn to take an early timeout. Then to extend the lead to 12-0, Mamu took advantage of Michael Porter Jr’s wandering eyes and slipped behind him to the basket for a layup through contact. 

To say Mamu has played well this season would be an understatement, his ability to bend and mesh into whatever Toronto needs to do has been great,  and he showed that off last night. 

Noah Clowney had some really nice drives, he is a big and long guy so if he can get to the cup he can use that length and use his size to finish through, or around defenders. After Toronto’s early run, it was Clowney who took matters into his own hands and got Brooklyn back into it one drive at a time. His patience on these drives stood out, if he was met with resistance he didn’t panic and pick up his dribble, he simply flowed into a spin move and took advantage of the momentum that generated in order to finish at the cup.

RJ Barrett was putting together a strong game offensively, he was getting to the free throw line, he was knocking down his triples, and he was taking full advantage of his opportunities in transition as well. After a fast break dunk early in the third quarter, Barrett showed immediate discomfort and headed to the locker room soon after. Toronto would later diagnose him with a right knee sprain and rule him out for the game, which was a blow to Toronto. 

This was a game in which Toronto did not have a high-scoring performance from just one player, instead, they got a lot of contributions from all over the rotation and this is what empowered them to win this game. Toronto had 8 players in double figures last night, which was double the amount of double figure scorers that Brooklyn had. 

Ja’Kobe Walter had 16 points, which is a season-high for him and he continued what has been an excellent stretch of play. Walter was lights out from downtown shooting 4-5, and he was subtly relocating around the three-point line in order to make the read easier for his teammates. Gradey Dick had 12 points, Mamu had 12 as well, Jamal Shead added in 11 and 9, and this just shows that Toronto has a somewhat deep roster full of players who can contribute. 

This game was tied 104-104 in the fourth quarter, but it was the aforementioned poised play of Toronto that allowed them to close this one out. Brandon Ingram was posting up, Brooklyn sent two to the ball which led to a kickout to Shead, who then swung it to Immanuel Quickley for a three which gave Toronto some breathing room. A few possessions later, Scottie Barnes had an outstanding defensive play where he stonewalled a Porter Jr drive, and then when Brooklyn tried to reset and find him again, Barnes was in the lane waiting like a hawk to swoop in and get the steal. This led to a fast break where Mamu was able to clean it up and get the put-back layup and extend Toronto’s lead to 10 points. 

Brooklyn put up a good fight, but in the end Toronto proved to be too tall a mountain for their players to scale. It was a hard-fought game but in the end, Toronto’s talent pushed them over the edge. Toronto now has to face the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight, likely without RJ Barrett, and this will be a test of just how much adversity Toronto can overcome.

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