Raptors win from deep
Fred VanVleet scored 30 points and led Toronto’s sizzling 3-point attack as the defending NBA champion Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets 134-110 in the opening game of their first-round playoff series Monday.
VanVleet went 8 of 10 from 3-point range and the Raptors shot 22 of 44 from beyond the arc as a team. VanVleet also had 11 assists with only one turnover, becoming the first Raptor in franchise history to combine 30-plus points and 10-plus assists in a playoff game.
Toronto’s accuracy from beyond the arc helped the Raptors grab a 68-35 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half. Brooklyn got that margin all the way down to eight late in the third quarter, but the Raptors regained control and won convincingly.
Serge Ibaka scored 22 points off the bench for the Raptors. Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Lowry had 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists with no turnovers. Marc Gasol scored 13, OG Anunoby had 12 and Terence Davis added 11.
Brooklyn’s Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 26 to match a career high. Joe Harris scored 19. Caris LeVert had 15 points and 15 assists, while Jarrett Allen collected 15 points and 12 rebounds. Garrett Temple added 12 points.
This game shaped up as a blowout in the early going. One sequence late in the first quarter exemplified the Raptors’ dominance.
Toronto’s Norman Powell took a foot to the groin area from Brooklyn’s Garrett Temple, who had appeared to kick his foot up because he’d lost his balance. After a timeout, Powell promptly hit a 3-pointer on the other end of the floor.
Even after Brooklyn went on a 16-5 run to close the second quarter, Toronto led 7351 at halftime.
Brooklyn played much better in the second half and threatened to make a game of it. A 3-pointer by Luwawu-Cabarrot capped a 19-6 spurt that cut Toronto’s lead to 90-82 with 2:06 left in the third period.
The Nets were still within nine early in the fourth quarter before VanVleet made a pair of 3-pointers during a 12-4 run. Brooklyn wouldn’t threaten again.
Toronto never trailed all day, a notable departure from how the Raptors usually open the playoffs.
The Raptors had lost their opening playoff game five of the last six years even though they were the higher-seeded team in each of those matchups. That included a 2014 series with Brooklyn that the Nets eventually won in seven games, though Toronto’s Kyle Lowry is the only remaining player from both teams who appeared in that competition.
Toronto has still managed to win its last four firstround series. The Raptors lost their first playoff game 104-101 to Orlando but went on to win that series in five and later earn their first NBA title.
Nuggets 135, Jazz 125 — Jamal Murray showed up for his postgame Zoom call wearing a shirt featuring the image of boxing great Muhammad Ali.
Almost fitting, given Denver withstood blow after blow from Donovan Mitchell before landing the knockout punch.
Murray scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime on a day Mitchell erupted for a Jazz playoff-record 57 points and the Nuggets beat Utah in Game 1 of their first-round series.
“It was just lights, camera, action and come on we’re trying to get this win,” Murray explained.
Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds for Denver.
Game 2 is Wednesday. Mitchell was the star of the show in the absence of Mike Conley, who left the NBA bubble to return to Ohio for the birth of his son.
Mitchell’s scoring spree surpassed the Jazz mark of 50 by Karl Malone on April 22, 2000, against Seattle.
Mitchell was 19 of 33 from the floor and 13 of 13 from the free-throw line. He hit six 3-pointers in 43 minutes, 14 seconds of work. He also had seven assists and nine rebounds.