Despite great performances by Gradey Dick and Immanuel Quickley, the Raptors couldn’t close against the Brooklyn Nets.
IT’S THE LAST BACK TO BACK OF THE RAPTORS SEASON.
Oh man, that’s exciting. Back to backs are pretty awful for all involved. For the Toronto Raptors especially, who seem to be crawling to the finish line (or at least it feels that way to this writer), saying goodbye to back to backs for now is a celebration.
Last night, the Raptors played the Indiana Pacers in their final home game of the season. Immanuel Quickley sat out to rest, and Gradey Dick was injured, so the Raptors were even more shorthanded than usual in that loss.
While they competed well, they lost control in the second half and fell apart. Tonight, Barrett, Trent, and Olynyk were out while Quickley and Gradey were in for Toronto.
The team jetted off to Brooklyn after last night’s game to play the Nets tonight. The nets sit above the Raptors but are also out of playoff contention... so there were not any playoff implications to this game.
How bad is it to say that excitement wasn’t really swirling around this match up? Or have we all accepted where we are at?
Anyway, the Raptors competed in the first half, with Immanuel Quickley leading the team in points early on. He was joined by Gradey Dick, who missed yesterday’s game with a groin strain. Javon Freeman-Liberty also came off the bench to score double-digits in the first half, after scoring a career high last night.
They tied the Nets 27-27 after the first quarter, and went into halftime up by one.
Toronto came out of the half blazing, but Brooklyn kept up. Two teams at the same level, I guess. Oh yeah, Dennis Schroder was there too... remember his Toronto Raptors era? Seems like a dream sometimes.
This game was not as particularly hard to watch as some games the Raptors have played in the last six weeks... but it was not very exciting either. Maybe it’s because you’re watching knowing most of these players won’t be Raptors after this weekend and it’s hard to be invested. Maybe it’s because it’s the Brooklyn Nets.
Gradey Dick was an exciting factor though, as he proves how much he’s developed this year as a rookie. He scored a career high 24 points total tonight, making six three pointers.
Despite leading for a lot of the game and not letting the Nets get a lead higher than two points, the Raptors let the Nets creep ahead in the dying minutes in the fourth. Quickley made the three pointer at the minute mark to go up by one point. Brooklyn quickly reciprocated and was up two points.
With 35 seconds left, it was Raptors ball, but an extremely chaotic loose ball play ended up in a turnover. The Nets advanced the ball, but Garrett Temple got the steal... he missed the lay up though. No hate to our Union King, we appreciated the hustle. No foul on the drive though, and the Nets got the ball back, causing the Raptors to foul them.
Down four points now, Quickley went in for the drive and was awarded a goaltending call, bringing the Raptors within two points with 4.4 seconds left on the clock.
Dennis Schroder then makes two more free throws, it’s back to four, and the Raptors advance the ball. All of this stop and go, and the Raptors are not able to catch up in the end. They end up losing the second game in the back to back.
Brooklyn gets away with this game, 106-102.
The star of the night was clearly Immanuel Quickley. He scored 32 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, one block and one steal. He has proven to be a bright spot in a bad Raptors season, and probably the best transaction this front office has made in years.
Well, not probably, definitely. I’m personally a #trustmasai girl, but I can admit the past few years have been a little rough. What better moves have happened than Quickley? He’s improved a lot in the short time he’s been a Raptor, and is already leading the team with ease.
Quickley remains one of the most exciting parts of the Raptors future as we finish out this tough season.
The Raptors now have two games left in the season, both in Miami, this weekend.
