The Toronto Raptors passed their back-to-back tests against the Brooklyn Nets.
After handling the Nets in Brooklyn on Monday, the Raptors had to dig deep to come away with a comeback win in Toronto on Tuesday.
Behind a rocking and jam-packed Scotiabank Arena crowd for the first time since Dec. 13, the Raptors were able to overcome an eight-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to pick up a much-needed victory.
For more on the win, we have you covered with some thoughts below.
1. Malachi Flynn making the most of an opportunity
With Fred VanVleet sidelined due to a lingering knee injury, head coach Nick Nurse has elected to give second-year guard Flynn another chance at cracking the rotation.
Flynn was inserted into the starting lineup in Monday’s win over the Nets, going for 18 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals. His play earned him another start in Tuesday’s contest, and he wasted no time to get going.
In the first quarter, Flynn got the crowd buzzing with a mean hesitation for an easy layup.
Flynn finished with an impressive line of 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds, answering the call when his team needed him most.
2. Scottie Barnes’ energy takes over the game
Barnes had one of the best games of his rookie campaign against the Nets on Monday, erupting for a career-high-tying 28 points while shooting an efficient 12-for-14 from the field. He also added 16 rebounds, five steals and four assists, making everything happen for the Raptors in the win.
He didn’t lose his hot hand overnight, continuing to score with ease in Tuesday’s matchup.
Barnes tallied 12 points in the first half, making five of his seven shot attempts. He’s really finding his touch and his energy running the floor and finding open spaces as a cutter has resulted in a lot of easy dunks.
Barnes was the catalyst of the Raptors’ fourth-quarter comeback, hitting a clutch shot, coming up with stops and dishing out this sweet assist that had Scotiabank Arena roaring.
Scottie Barnes finds Thad Young with beautiful dime late in Toronto!
He came up with a big block on Seth Curry with the game on the line and finished with another double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Raptors to victory.
3. Pascal Siakam’s sluggish second half continues
Siakam was playing some of the best basketball of his career before the All-Star break, averaging 25.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 55.9 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from 3 over his last 10 games.
Since the All-Star break, Siakam has looked like a completely different player and he couldn’t shake that spell tonight.
In the three games prior to this one, Siakam was averaging just 10.0 points while shooting 25.6 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from 3.
Foul trouble prevented him from getting in any sort of a rhythm – he had five fouls with 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter – and he eventually fouled out with two minutes to play in a two-point game.
Siakam finished a solid stat line of 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists and one steal, but he didn’t leave the same impact on the game as we were seeing a few weeks back.
4. Fans back at Scotiabank Arena
For the first time since Dec. 13, Scotiabank Arena was back at full capacity. Raptors fans piled in to see their favourite team in action and the crowd was rocking.
It was good to see the electric Scotiabank Arena atmosphere again.
5. Letting Goran Dragic hear it
Raptors fans were not very kind to their former veteran point guard.
Dragic only appeared in five games for the Raptors before being traded to the Spurs for Thaddeus Young. He was bought out by San Antonio and signed with the Nets, who ironically played two of his first three games against his former team.
Every time Dragic touched the ball, the Scotiabank Arena crowd let boos rain down on him.
Amidst the boos, Dragic did have one nice stepback on Pascal Siakam, knocking down a tough jumper before silencing the Raptors fans.
Dragic had a respectful 10 points in 15 minutes off the bench in his first game back in Toronto.
6. How does this result affect the East playoff picture?
The Raptors needed these two wins desperately to create some space between them and the Nets in the standings with Kevin Durant’s return looming.
The Raptors advanced to 34-27 on the season, giving them a three-game lead over the Nets for the No. 7 seed in the East.
They still trail the Boston Celtics by 1.5 games for the highly-coveted No. 6 seed, but they have a comfortable distance on other teams in the Play-In picture.
7. What’s next?
The Raptors will have one day off before another back-to-back – this time against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, March 3, followed by the Orlando Magic on Friday, March 4.
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
