It was a game lost and of losses.
But those who remain and those that have joined have 27 more chances to figure out this convoluted season and make it memorable for something other than dislocation, discombobulation and health-and-safety protocols.
The Toronto Raptors celebrated that Kyle Lowry hadn’t been traded, lamented that Norman Powell had been and welcomed the arrival of Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood in return.
And then they did what they’ve done more regularly this year than any Raptors team in nearly a decade: They lost, again, this time 104-101 to the Phoenix Suns.
It was familiar in the sense that the under-sized Raptors got pounded at the rim, where the Suns counted 58 paint points — a season-high for a Raptors opponent — and where Toronto struggled to score if they weren’t shooting well from deep.
Pascal Siakam led Toronto with 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Fred VanVleet had 22, but it was slim pickings after that.
There’s been a lot of change and a lot of potential change with the Raptors this season, just two years removed from an NBA title and less than a year past having the second-best regular-season record in the league. But falling short has been their calling card, as they dropped their 12th game in their last 14 starts to fall to 18-27 on the year to remain in 11th place, two games out of the 10th spot, where they need to be to qualify for the play-in tournament.
But at least they have Lowry back and after almost constant speculation for weeks that the pending free agent was going to be traded before Thursday’s deadline, he seemed relieved to have stayed.
“It was a crazy day, there were things that were being said and told and operated on but at the end of the day, like I said the other day, everything happens for a reason, right?” said Lowry, who was not his best on the floor as he finished with 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting. “Everything happens for a reason and I think they felt I was valuable to be here and be a part of this franchise for a long time and I think that was a big thing. They valued me here.”
Lowry, who spent the day golfing on his 35th birthday, was in regular communication with Raptors president Masai Ujiri. The team had pledged they would work to find a deal that suited both Lowry and the needs of the club, and if they couldn’t they’d keep the franchise leader in assists, steals, threes made and charges drawn around for the remainder of the season at least.
“It’s something that the relationship that I’ve built with Masai and the organization. We’ve come so far from where I’ve come from to where I am now, it’s an open line of communication always,” said Lowry. “There’s no animosity, there’s no level of anything, it’s all about making sure that I’m in the best position, the franchise is in the best position, everybody’s in the best position to be successful.
“It’s very much appreciated, it really is.”
And now on to the job of winning.
That might be easier said than done although the Raptors looked good in the fourth quarter as Toronto — led by the defensive dominance of OG Anunoby, who swallowed up Suns guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker on multiple possessions — held Phoenix to 7-of-22 shooting and nearly came back from down nine with 3:50 to play after trailing for the entire game.
But after a quick 7-0 run to cut the lead to two with 2:11 left on the clock, the Raptors’ offence stalled and the Suns sealed it with an offensive rebound on a missed Booker jumper with 12 seconds left, followed by a pair of free throws from the Suns all-star to put the game out of reach.
Trent Jr. started in place of Powell, and didn’t look out of place as he finished with eight points on 4-of-11 shooting though he was 0-of-5 from deep. The 22-year-old son of one-time Raptor Gary Trent Sr. showed plenty of promise on defence as well with a key stop on Paul down the stretch, though a chance at a go-ahead three he missed with a minute left would have been welcome, narratively speaking.
But there’s plenty to work with, was the consensus.
“I thought he was good,” said Nurse. “Obviously it’s difficult to come in, fly in at night and join a team and play, and play against one of the best teams in the league. I thought he was good, I liked his aggression on defence most of all, he’ll learn what we’re doing, and I thought he had some really good possessions defensively, he was aggressive and executed the stuff we asked him to execute at a super high level, so that’s a great thing to see, and we know he can shoot, we know he can score, and he had some opportunities to do that tonight and he did OK, did OK.”
But there were moments when the ball was moving around but the threes weren’t falling — Toronto shot 12-of-45 from deep — that Powell was conspicuous by his absence. He put up 22 points on 13 shots in his debut for Portland — where the pending free agent was traded in return for Trent Jr. and Hood.
Powell’s production was such that he’s bound to hit it big in free agency and the Raptors hope that in Trent they have a younger, cheaper alternative.
He’ll be missed for his production, but his teammates felt his absence for more personal reasons.
“Obviously given the circumstances of the way this year has been going he’s been a bright spot, he was a bright spot for us all year,” said VanVleet. “He did his job, he put the organization in a tough spot and he raised his value even more. I’m just happy for him.
“Obviously it’s a business. You’ve gotta remind yourself of that sometimes because as players we put our heart and soul and blood, sweat and tears into this and sometimes you lose sight of the fact that it’s actually a business. So on the business side I’m happy for him, he put himself in a great position this summer, but obviously personally it was tough to see him go.”
Those that remain — both the new and old — are left to figure out how to make sense of a season that has generally defied logic.
There’s no choice but to move on. And since the games keep coming — they host Portland, with Powell in the lineup on Sunday and Detroit on Monday — they might as well try to win some.
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