It wasn’t your typical night in Toronto. Everyone was ready and geared up, draped in purple head-to-toe to celebrate one of the city’s best and brightest athletes: Vince Carter.
The Raptors held a pre-game press conference for now Hall of Famer Carter. He was emotional throughout the day as he expressed his gratitude for the moment, his humbleness to the fans, and his appreciation for those around him who supported him. At halftime, the anticipation in the air was palpable. It was a playoff-like atmosphere. The crowd roared as Carter walked out onto the court. It cheered when it saw DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry give their stamp of approval for Carter being the first to go up, and the words of Masai Ujiri echoed throughout Scotiabank Arena:
“He taught us how to fly.” And just like that, Carter’s jersey flew up to the rafters; #15 forever enshrined in Raptors history.
And that was just one part of a wild night in Raptors basketball.
There was also a game to be played, and Toronto came out extra motivated, dropping 37 points in the 1st quarter and leading by three at halftime. Chris Boucher was on fire in the 1st half, and the Raptors, in general, benefitted from a great shooting performance from the whole team, which knocked down 17 threes on 45% shooting. Boucher finished the game with 24 points, including some big plays in the fourth quarter and overtime to help seal the win for the Raptors.
Ochai Agbaji continued his impressive play, finishing with 22 points and knocking down four threes (from the corners), all while locking down De’Aaron Fox on the defensive end. Davion Mitchell, for his part, was stellar offensively but struggled on the offensive end, dishing out seven assists and causing five turnovers.
But the big winners from the Raptors were RJ Barrett and Gradey Dick, who helped will the Raptors to a victory. Barrett poured in 31 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, and despite not shooting the ball well (and missing some clutch free throws down the stretch), the clutch plays he made throughout certainly outweighed the mistakes from a developing player. The same can be said for Dick, who didn’t have the most efficient night but still dropped in 22 points and made three threes, one of them being a clutch bucket to help the Raptors go up four points in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
In the end, the Raptors held off a barrage from DeMar DeRozan (seemingly beefing with Drake now) and got their second win of the season.
Fin.
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