RAPTORS RALLY AROUND SOME MAGIC FROM HOME
NBA champs all business as they roll over Nets after emotional pre-game moments
Kyle Lowry’s face exploded in a cheek-to-cheek, ear-to-ear smile he may never find again, his broad grin lighting up the Orlando afternoon.
Fred VanVleet’s eyes were moist and brimming with tears he couldn’t hold back.
It’s been eight or nine weeks since he’s seen his family, and there they were, on the big screen inside the NBA bubble, larger than basketball life, introducing their basketball-playing dad.
“It’s the longest I’ve been without seeing my kids,” said the Raptors guard. “Anyone who knows me knows how special my kids are.”
The first minute of the playoffs had yet to begin for the defending champion Toronto Raptors, but still the team and the NBA had already produced their own kind of magic. It may not have felt much like home, playing in a basketball building without fans, in a place with piped in noise and almost no atmosphere.
But the opening in what may not be a series to remember with the Brooklyn Nets is now something to remember forever.
Not just for Lowry and VanVleet and for coach Nick Nurse and all the starting Raptors players. But for anyone who cares about this team, who loves their ever-growing story, who adores who they are and what they have come to mean in this city and this country, you have to take a moment to appreciate how the first playoff game for the Raptors unfolded almost as much as the 24-point win turned out to be.
It began with Doug Tranquada, a regular voice at Raptors games, belting out the American national anthem. That seemed rather normal.
And then there was Toronto’s Jessie Reyez, the four-time Juno Award winner, singing the Canadian anthem as he stood outside near the top of the CN Tower, strapped in by harness, a view of the city that frightens those who don’t like heights, but stirring those who crave excitement.
And then came the introductions of the Raptors. The kids and mothers introducing Lowry, VanVleet, Marc Gasol and Nurse. The brothers introducing Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. So much pride from the families, from the players, from those at home watching on television.
Game 1 against the Nets would have difficulty matching the early excitement and the beauty that went into the endorsement. For the most part, except for a few moments in the third quarter, it was a Toronto blowout, a 134-110 win. This is usually the game, Game 1, that the Raptors don’t show up for. But the early inspiration and some terrific play had them scoring 73 points in the first half.
Lowry, not unlike in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, came out on fire and took over the game early in the first quarter before passing the baton to VanVleet, who led Toronto in scoring, shooting, setting teammates up and just about everything else.
Both Lowry and VanVleet held back tears at a time of game that normally brings little emotion out of either of them. And then the smallest backcourt in the Eastern Conference looked unstoppable.
“That’s my babies,” said Lowry after the game, his face mostly hidden behind his COVID-19 mask, his smile still evident. “That’s my world. ... That was awesome.
“That’s a memory that’s going to last forever ... our guys (on the bench) we were like ‘holy crap.’
It got me hyped. Our kids are a little bit crazy. I wanted to cry tears of joy.
“That right there shows who we play for. Our fans and our family and our friends. For Pascal’s brother and OG’s brother and Marc’s kids and Fred’s kids and coach’s son. And all the other families. It’s just a proud moment for all of us.”
This is just Game 1 of the NBA playoffs after a completely unnecessary eight-game lead-up. The Raptors were in lockup in Fort Myers before heading to the league lockup in Orlando. And this is only the beginning. It will be eight more weeks of lockup should the Raptors return to the finals. Assuming they win this series — and I will assume they will — then it’s two tough weeks and maybe another two weeks and who knows beyond that.
“It meant the world,” VanVleet said, talking about the opening in a game in which he scored 30 points, knocking down eight threes, again upping his off-season price in free agency.
“I miss my kids. I miss my girl. I miss my mom. I miss everybody.”
The Raptors led 37-20 after a remarkable opening quarter, and were ahead by 22 points at the half. With the game in doubt for a minute or three, Toronto outscored the Nets 39-24 in the final quarter. Over three quarters alone they scored 112 points, two more than Brooklyn managed in four quarters.
Nothing ever seems to surprise coach Nurse much, but like everyone else, he was clearly touched by the way the series began, before the game began. “That was awesome,” he said. In front of the Raptors’ bench, the players and coaches were trying to figure where Reyez was singing from.
“Was that the CN Tower?” he said. They weren’t sure.
Then it was time to focus, time to stop crying, stop smiling, and start playing basketball.