John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Fun Has Returned to Scotiabank Arena & Other Takeaways from Toronto's Last Second Victory Over the Nets
Fun has returned to Scotiabank Arena.
For the first time since mid-December, the Toronto Raptors took the court in front of a near-full capacity arena and didn't disappoint, eeking out a 109-108 victory over Goran Dragic and the Brooklyn Nets 109-108. Here are the biggest takeaways from the game.
1. Raptors Aren't Over the Dragic Saga
It was to be expected coming into the game. Dragic wasn't exactly a fan favorite during his Raptors tenure, to put it mildly. His time in Toronto started with those comments he made in Slovenian about wanting to play on a team with higher ambitions and it culminated with photos of him working out in the Miami Heat's facility all while technically still a member of the Raptors. But in between Toronto had no qualms letting Dragic walk away.
“We probably wanted to focus on our younger guys. We wanted to see our younger guys play a lot more minutes. We made that decision fairly early on," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said pre-game. "I was meeting with him and talking about the time. We got to the point where he was OK with it. He understood.”
It's why Dragic's reception Tuesday night was genuinely surprising for the Raptors who weren't expecting such a hostile environment.
"I don’t know why Goran was getting booed," Pascal Siakam said. "I was surprised. I like Goran."
The booing began the moment Dragic checked in and didn't let up. Every time he touched the ball the fans let him hear it, rained down boos throughout.
"They were lively, that's for sure. They really have fun doing that. Don't they? They were ready," Nurse said. "They didn't take the foot off the gas the whole game."
The boos seemed to get to Dragic early. He missed his first three free-throw attempts, but regrouped and finished the night with 10 points and a +15 plus/minus in 15 minutes.
2. Fans Are More Fun!
Raptors games are so much better with fans in the building. Toronto opened the night honoring Fred VanVleet for his All-Star Game honors and the celebrations carried over into the starting lineup announcements and throughout the game.
"It was amazing. We missed their energy all year," said Gary Trent Jr. who led Toronto with 24 points. "But they're all back now, so hopefully we can get things rolling, the crowd gets behind us, the city gets back behind us, and (we get) a great thing going."
The electricity in the building after a Scottie Barnes or Precious Achiuwa slam dunk just can't be met with pumped in fan noise. Even the "refs you suck" chants that came when Siakam fouled out late in the fourth were pretty special too.
"It felt good seeing some familiar faces out there and I’m sure the fans were excited, we heard them. It feels good, it feels good to have them back," Siakam said.
3. Flynn Continues to Impress
It wasn't quite the performance he had on Monday where he was nearly "perfect," as Nurse put it pre-game, but Flynn was once again a difference-maker on Tuesday. He started the game with more success in the pick-and-roll, creating advantages and finding shooters. He found his mid-range game again and got to the bucket a few times, beating LaMarcus Aldridge with a little hesitation dribble in transition for a pair.
"I’m proud of him, I’m proud of Malachi," Siakam said. "He’s been playing his role well on both ends of the floor, controlling the game, making tough shots, his speed up the floor is great, and I think he’s making good decisions. We’re gonna need that from him and I just want him to keep it going, keep it going, I’m proud of him."
In the fourth, Flynn found Trent Jr. inside for a dime to beat Brooklyn's zone and followed it up with a drive-and-kick pass to Thad Young behind the arc to pull Toronto to within three. Moments later, he nailed another mid-range jumper and again pulled Toronto to within three with a catch-and-shoot three from Pascal Siakam.
It's been a full turnaround from early in the season when Flynn was unplayable, Nurse said. Now, after a few strong outings in the second halves of games, Flynn has become unbenchable. His 43 minutes played Tuesday night set a season-high.
"We gave him some shots early in the season. We gave him some chances and he didn't really look like he was ready to go. He just wasn't impacting, wasn't making shots, wasn't playing what I thought we needed," Nurse said of Flynn's early season struggles. "We gave him a few shots here and there lately and he's produced and that's the only thing I can judge it on, right? You go out there and you play your minutes and if you play well, I'm gonna play you, period."
4. Barnes Shows off Clutch Gene
Barnes does all the easy things so well. He runs in transition and grabs offensive boards like a veteran big. Yet when the moment was the biggest Tuesday night, he nailed a contested mid-range jumper over Bruce Brown late in the shot clock to put Toronto up one. He then zipped a pass inside to Young who to stick the Raptors to a five-point lead with just over a minute to go in regulation and ended the night for Brooklyn with a massive block on Seth Curry before Trent Jr.'s free throws sent the Nets home with back-to-back losses.
It's those flashes from the 20-year-old rookie that should have Raptors fans even more excited than the put-back buckets he collects throughout the game. His passing and knack for the ball are going to make him very special for a long time.
5. Zone Struggles Continue
With VanVleet still sidelined, Toronto's options for beating Brooklyn's zone got pretty bleak pretty quickly. After finding success with the zone Monday night, the Nets tested their luck with it again on Tuesday when Toronto went to its bench. This time, though, the Raptors didn't get the three-point shooting it had on Monday night from Achiuwa and Boucher. Instead, Toronto's space-less lineups struggled to get anything going, unable to get to the middle of the zone or get off open three-point shots.
Considering the success Brooklyn has had the last two games with a zone, don't be surprised if the Raptors see a lot more of it this season and into the playoffs, especially when VanVleet and Trent are off the floor.
Anunoby Update
The Raptors are going over their options with OG Anunoby who saw a hand specialist on Monday afternoon to get a second opinion on his fractured right ring finger. Nurse said he can fight through the pain and continue playing, but the team isn't entirely sure that's the best path forward.
Up Next: Detroit Pistons
The Raptors will be back at it Thursday night when Dwane Casey and those pesky Detroit Pistons come to town for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
