The Toronto Raptors put up a valiant effort for about one half tonight, but the Brooklyn Nets’ talent advantage eventually won out, as they ran away with a 112-98 win over the hometown Raptors.
“Shorthanded” doesn’t adequately describe the Raptors lineup tonight. They were missing seven players — Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, Precious Achiuwa, Otto Porter, Dalano Banton and Justin Champagnie. They had so many players injured that Champagnie and Banton had to be listed as inactive so that the Raptors could put the required 12 players on the active roster.
The Nets, meanwhile, have their big three intact, and although the Raptors did a solid job on Kevin Durant — holding him to 12 points on 10 shots — Kyrie Irving went off, to the tune of 29 points on 16 shots including 5-for-8 shooting from downtown.