Quick Reaction: Raptors 129, Nets 131

Raptors

129

Final
Box Score

131

Nets

P. Siakam44 MIN, 25 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 12-21 FG, 0-4 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, +13 +/-

Ethered Durant in transition. Also, really, truly, exceptionally nice footwork attacking in the paint. In the past, guarding him with centers has been his kryptonite. Well, not in this one. Dusted Nic Claxton and Blake Griffin too when he had chances on him. When he drew multiple defenders, he made great dishes for open jumpers. Was certainly Toronto’s best defender (which isn’t saying a ton), as he was incredibly effective there. He did miss some really makeable jumpers in overtime.

C. Boucher32 MIN, 9 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-7 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, +15 +/-

After some touch fouls were called on him, he really wasn’t much deterrence at the rim, either stopping shots or grabbing rebounds in the first half. Was much, much better in the second. He picked up a tech during a Toronto run for taunting, and he set himself on fire, punching some Brooklyn shots out of bounds and getting his teammates going. Had a very, very unclutch defensive possession, losing Patty Mills at the end of regulation. Mills ended up hitting the game-tying shot. Also just … didn’t .. grab a defensive rebound right in front of him with 15 seconds left in overtime.

S. Barnes44 MIN, 23 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 7-13 FG, 3-5 3FG, 6-8 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -7 +/-

Wildly clutch triples in the fourth. Truly absurd. His defense slipped below his recent excellent level early in this one as he died in the pick and roll and picked up early fouls guarding Kevin Durant. He couldn’t lift an iffy bench group facing a Durant-led bench group from Brooklyn, giving up a 7-0 run to end the first. Offensively, Brooklyn threw the farm at him — at one point in the second quarter, he had the fewest shot attempts of ALL players who had entered the game. He used the attention well to benefit his teammates, and in the second half when he saw fewer bodies, he was able to put some in — including a few post ups against Durant.

A-

F. VanVleet47 MIN, 31 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL, 10-23 FG, 6-14 3FG, 5-5 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, +8 +/-

Missed a potential game winner badly in regulation and a potential game tie-er less badly in overtime. Still a great game. He was a really nice pace-setter early. Ran off the ball, hit jumpers (including a ridiculous late-clock heave), passed in transition. In the second half, he started breaking down everyone off the dribble, either finishing himself or diming up others for easy jumpers. When Toronto’s at its BEST best, VanVleet is probably filling in the cracks, supporting the nuclear power of Siakam and others. When Toronto is not at that level, VanVleet is holding them afloat. Tonight he did both during different stretches of the game.

G. Trent Jr.42 MIN, 25 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, 9-19 FG, 6-12 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +13 +/-

During a stretch with Toronto’s offense on life support, missing everything and only taking jumpers, Gary took over and hit some needed ones. Like, a lot of them. He gave some spice on the defensive end, fighting for loose balls with a little extra pizzazz. Ripped away from steals. Stretched the floor. Pretty much an ideal game for him.

B+

Y. Watanabe27 MIN, 5 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 1-6 FG, 1-5 3FG, 2-2 FT, 3 BLK, 1 TO, -15 +/-

He had his chance on Durant after Barnes went to the bench, and he challenged the shots, at least, even though Durant usually put them in. That’s life. He missed some triples early, but he cut well and passed well, finding ways to contribute without the jumper. He was one of the only non-star guys to keep the ball flowing into advantages despite missing jumpers. Oh, and he blocked three shots. Hit a clutch one in the fourth, missed an even clutcher one.

B-

J. Champagnie11 MIN, 6 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-8 FG, 0-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -12 +/-

Second off the bench! Backup center! Wasn’t he just Toronto’s primary on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the other day? He did fall asleep off the ball early — defense is why he’s in the game. But then made a few nice putbacks on the other end, hanging in the air. Far too many possessions ended up in his hands, open behind the arc. Good on him for shooting them, or else you have other problems, but you would have liked for a few more makes.

C-

M. Flynn7 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-4 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -10 +/-

His scoring was woefully lacking in the first half, as his layups were blocked and his triples were noticeably off. Did hit a nice corner 3 after some quick passing, but ultimately lost his minutes in the second half, deservedly so.

S. Mykhailiuk9 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -15 +/-

Cut for a layup approximately six seconds after checking into the game. Didn’t do enough after that.

A-

Nick Nurse

Toronto was pretty well prepared for this one. They made mistakes on the glass, but the playbook on both ends was ready. Some solid plays to get Siakam going in the post and VanVleet catching off the ball, and some even better counters to leverage the attention Brooklyn paid Barnes. Coaching is always hard to judge, but I was impressed with the way both sides treated this game. Ran a real tight ship, rotation-wise, in the fourth — he really, really wanted this game. The defense wasn’t fantastic for a few brief stretches, but in general the gameplan was tight.