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Raptors Conclude Tumultuous 2020-21 Season With Loss to Pacers
It's only right that this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Toronto Raptors' season came to a close with the best performance from Aron Baynes all year.
Baynes was the punching bag for the Raptors this season. He was the new guy for Toronto, replacing a pair of Raptors legends in Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol, and right from the jump things went off the rails. It was a tumultuous season, as Raptors coach Nick Nurse put it. Just when it looked like the Raptors might turn things around this year COVID-19 hit the organization and things were never the same.
Now it's finally over. The Raptors fell 125-113 to the Indiana Pacers, concluding the 2020-21 season 27-45, their worst record since the 2011-12 season.
Toronto's roster went six deep on Sunday. That meant wacky lineups like a Freddie Gillespie, Khem Birch, Baynes configuration for extended stretches. It also meant Baynes finished the season with a season-high 14 points.
Unfortunately for Raptors fans, there was no Kyle Lowry on Sunday. The 35-year-old Raptors legend may have concluded his Toronto tenure having rested the final seven games of the season. If he does leave in free agency this summer, his final game will have been a vintage Lowry 37-point, 11-assist performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 2.
"He certainly played great that night," Nurse said of that May 2nd performance. "I think he's a great player, I think historically he's been great for us."
Opposing Toronto on Sunday was former Raptor Oshae Brissett who had a career afternoon for the Pacers, with 31 points including five 3-pointers.
Malachi Flynn led all Raptors with a career-high 27 points.
Up Next: Exit Interviews
The Raptors will be holding exit interviews over the next few days before everyone goes their separate ways for the next little while. The next key date to know will be the NBA draft lottery on June 22.
