Moving on
The Toronto Raptors will advance in tournament play in Las Vegas Summer League thanks to an 85-77 victory against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. OG Anunoby led all scorers with 22 points as the Raptors used a late run to take control of the game and pick up their first victory in Vegas.
Anunoby on fire
As mentioned above, OG Anunoby was fantastic against the Nuggets. The soon-to-be sophomore Raptor scored 22 points on Wednesday, shooting 9-for-17 from the floor, 2-for-7 from the three-point line, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line in 27 minutes of action. He added four rebounds and a blocked shot as well.
Highlight reel
Check out a collection of OG’s best plays from Wednesday’s victory:
Bench mob
The Raptors summer league squad had its own bench mob boost from Giddy Potts and Chris Boucher on Wednesday. Potts scored 14 points, shooting 4-for-9 from the floor, and 4-for-7 from three, while Boucher added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, 2-for-3 from deep and was a presence on the defensive end of the floor, recording six blocked shots to go with six rebounds.
Dominant fourth
Despite trailing for much of the game, Toronto flipped the script late in the second half. After outscoring the Nuggets by four in the third to hold a slim two-point advantage to start the fourth quarter, the Raptors opened the final frame on a 16-0 run. Toronto would go on to outscore the Nuggets 28-18 in the quarter to stretch the lead to 17 points before Denver made up some ground in the final minutes.
The Raptors were 0-3 in the round-robin portion of the tournament, while the Nuggets entered tournament play a perfect 3-0. Toronto will now face the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday at 6 P.M. ET.
Tourney Game 1 recap
Matt Tierney and Akil Augustine recap the victory against Denver, paying particular attention to Chris Boucher and Giddy Potts.
Open Gym Vegas Edition
The OG crew is back, bringing you behind-the-scenes action from Las Vegas where guys are hoping to leave an impression and make a name for themselves.
Backseat freestyle
Watch (and listen to) Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby hit the high notes of a Beyonce classic in the car on the latest episode of #SummerSkills:
They said it
“We were just playing hard, getting stops, running out in transition. We all trust each other to make shotsm so we were moving the ball and shooting with confidence.”- OG Anunoby on the team clicking offensively against Denver
“You could see, even though the losses, the growth coming. We just had such a long way to go to start, but I thought you saw flashes in each game of extended minutes of good play. Maybe it was only eight [minutes] the first night, 12 the second and then 18 [the third], but we’re pushing it out, trying to get to a full game. It takes a little bit with a bunch of young guys.”- Nick Nurse on the team growing game by game
“I think everybody [has just had] overall growth each game. You know, we went 0-3 to start in pool play. Everybody came out Game 4 still mentally ready to win the game. We turned it up at the right time, you know, we got a win. I think that's something big, especially at Summer League, having a lot of your guys just being able to stay focused for Game 4 after losing three in a row, so I think that's always big.”- Alfonzo McKinnie echoing Nick Nurse’s thoughts on how the team has been improving since starting in Vegas
“Just show them I'm a complete player. I’ve come here, I’ve worked hard these past two months and I want to show that. I want to make shots, defend, rebound, try to be a leader on the court and do everything I can do get a win.”- Malachi Richardson on what he wants to show the team in Summer League
“I think this whole Summer League was pretty much just learn more on the defensive end. Coach Nurse wants us to get up, ball pressure, contest more shots, just be better overall defensively. I think that's something that I've been taking away from Summer League the most.”- Alfonzo McKinnie on the defensive emphasis in Vegas this summer
“We just keep playing good. You don't know if you're gonna win or who you're gonna play or whatever. We wanna win, man. We're gonna play and hopefully we grow some more, just keep playing, move the ball a little better, guard a little harder, and fight like heck. That's kind of the theme of the Summer League: Let's learn while we go and just stay with it. No highs and lows, and if there is, let's kinda treat 'em the same and just keep on playing.”- Nick Nurse on what would be defined as success for the team’s time at summer league
Up next
The Raptors will take on the Charlotte Hornets in the next phase of the tournament on Saturday at 6 P.M. ET.