TORONTO – There were 22.5 seconds left on the clock as Deron Williams stepped to the free- throw line in Game 7 of the thrilling opening-round playoff series between the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors back in 2014.
Scotiabank Arena – formerly known as the Air Canada Centre – had already seen its share of special moments, and it’s certainly been the site of a few since then, but those who were in the building that day will tell you they’ve never seen or heard it like that.
With a two-point lead and a chance to ice the game and the series for Brooklyn, Williams stared into a seemingly endless sea of red and white – more than 20,000 Raptors fans standing, screaming and stomping, desperately trying to will the ball out of the basket.
The foundation shook and the noise was deafening. When Williams missed the first shot, the building erupted.
That’s just one of the lasting images from an iconic and franchise-altering few weeks. Masai Ujiri’s “F— Brooklyn” in Jurassic Park ahead of Game 1 and the subsequent fine from the NBA, Dwane Casey riding the subway on the way to the arena, and Terrence Ross’ Game 7 steal. Then there was the way it ended – Kyle Lowry, who’s buzzer-beating floater had just been blocked by Paul Pierce, laying under the basket while his friend and teammate DeMar DeRozan consoled him.
Brooklyn had won the battle, but Toronto won the war.
The Nets, who were built to compete for championships, lost in the second round that year. They haven’t won a playoff series – or more than 42 games in a season – since.
The Raptors have won eight postseason series, including an NBA title. They’ve qualified for the playoffs in each of the past seven years, and after failing to win 50 games during the first two decades of their existence, they’ve reached that plateau five seasons in a row – the longest active streak in the league.
Their remarkable and unexpected mid-season turnaround in 2013-14 sparked the most successful run in franchise history, and the “We the North” era was born in that series with Brooklyn – literally in the case of the team’s popular marketing campaign and rallying cry, which was launched a few days before Game 1.
“It was thrilling at that time for the Raptors to even be in that position,” said Nick Nurse, who was in his first season as an assistant with Toronto that year. “I don’t think anybody saw it coming. And the excitement. Man, was it something. The roar of the crowd in Game 1 was amazing for our home fans and fan base. To be there for the first year, that was my first year there, it was something cool, for sure.”
Six years later, the Raptors have come full circle as they prepare to open the postseason against a familiar – and fitting – first-round opponent: the Nets. Both teams look and feel a lot different this time.
For Toronto, it hasn’t exactly been a linear rise. There have been setbacks and casualties along the way. They were swept out of the playoffs three times in four years. Casey was let go. DeRozan was traded. But even as the personnel changed, their on- and off-court identity mostly remained the same, and it manifested itself in that first series against Brooklyn.
Everything seemed new and exciting back then – for the players, the team and its fans. It’s why there was such a buzz in the building and around the city for a first-round series.
The organization hadn’t made the playoffs in six years, and didn’t expect to that season. Three of the starters were making their postseason debuts, while the other two came in with just 24 games of playoff experience under their belts. The Nets’ starters – Williams, Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Joe Johnson and Shaun Livingston – had 447.
The Raptors were actually the higher seed, but given their youth and Brooklyn’s championship pedigree, few picked them to win. That’s when Toronto truly embraced the idea of being the plucky underdogs. We the North. It fit the makeup of the team and resonated with the city and the fans.
Even in defeat, the experience of gutting out a hard-fought seven-game series against a tough veteran opponent helped prepare them for what they would become.
“[It meant] everything,” Lowry said of that 2014 series. He’s the only current Raptors player that appeared in it.
“It motivated me to great, to be better, to understand the situations that I want to be in and how to be successful in them.”
Lowry was 27 at the time. He was still learning what it meant to be a leader and only starting to scratch the surface of what he would blossom into as a player. He hadn’t made his first all-star team yet.
Now, he’s a six-time all-star, an Olympic gold medallist, an NBA champion and arguably the greatest Raptor ever. A lot has changed in six years, but with a game or a series on the line, they still want the ball in the hands of No. 7.
The roles are reversed for the rematch. The Raptors’ starters have appeared in 252 career playoff contests, and all five of them own a championship ring. The active roster has 493 games of playoff experience. Brooklyn’s has 149 games – 74 belonging to Jamal Crawford, who might not even play – and the Nets starters only have 51. They’re the kids. They’re the plucky underdogs with something to prove but nothing to lose.
This is the matchup that most teams wanted entering the restart. The Nets came to Disney without six rotation players. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving won’t return from their injuries until next season, while Spencer Dinwiddie, Wilson Chandler, DeAndre Jordan and Taurean Prince all opted out. They filled their roster with G League standouts, unclaimed veterans and whomever else they could find on short notice, so most people wrote them off.
But they may be a tougher out than people thought. Outside of the undefeated Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn has been the biggest surprise of the bubble, going 5-3 with wins over the Bucks and Clippers. On Thursday, they nearly ended Portland’s season, despite having nothing tangible on the line.
They remind you a lot of those 2013-14 Raptors that nobody saw coming. They play extremely hard. Without an established the star on the floor – although Caris LeVert is certainly blossoming into one – they share the ball and play together. If anybody should know how dangerous the plucky underdogs could be, it’s Toronto.
“I think they’re obviously one of the big surprises of the restart,” Nurse said. “LeVert’s outstanding. They’re really playing with a lot of confidence. They’re playing fast, Coach [Jacque] Vaughn has obviously got ’em dialled in, and I think there’s a lot of opportunity there for some guys that are pretty good players.
“You’ve got an up and coming guy in LeVert that’s a super, super scorer and player. You’ve got [some] veteran players around them, Garrett Temple and even Jamal Crawford, in their locker room. Even though he hasn’t played much, it’s still nice to have some vets around the team. They’ve got a lot of guys who are playing with a lot of energy and a lot of confidence right now. They certainly earned and deserve this playoff berth and we will respect them, for sure. We will have to prepare and play really well to beat them.”
It’s not just the teams that have changed in six years, so have the expectations. The Raptors aren’t just happy to be there anymore, and merely getting past Brooklyn is no longer good enough. The goal will be to advance in four or five games – they’ve been on the losing side of four series sweeps in franchise history, but never on the winning side.
The Nets won’t go down without a fight, they’ve made that clear, and that’s a good thing – the Raptors need and probably want to be pushed. It’s not an easy matchup but it’s a more favourable one than fifth-place Indiana (who will face Miami) or sixth-place Philadelphia (who will face Boston) would have been.
With the Celtics – Toronto’s likely second-round opponent – going toe-to-toe with the talented, albeit depleted 76ers in a series that could conceivably go the distance, the hope is that the Raptors can take advantage of their matchup and have a few extra days to prepare for what comes next.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
