The Toronto Raptors went down to the wire against the Brooklyn Nets but fell short 106-102.
The Raptors were lead by Immanuel Quickley who once again had a stellar game. Quickley returned from his night off and scored 32 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 9 assists.
Quickley has had three straight impressive games for Toronto. Also standing out in this one was rookie Gradey Dick who got the start with Gary Trent Jr out.
Dick scored a career-high 24 points on 6 3-pointers.
The Nets buckled down in the fourth quarter and limited the Raptors to 7 for 22 shooting from the field and blocked six shots.
Cam Thomas had 23 points and former Raptor Dennis Schroder scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Late in the game Schroder connected on a three-point play to put Brooklyn up 102-100. Garrett Temple then had a chance to tie it for the Raptors after he stole the ball from Noah Clowney but he was met at the rim by Clowney for his seventh block of the night.
Schroder followed this up by hitting a pair of free throws before Quickley’s layup cut the deficit to 104-102 with 5.2 seconds. However, Schroder then hit two more free throws to seal the victory for the Nets.
The Raptors were without RJ Barrett and Kelly Olynyk who they decided to sit on the second night of a back-to-back. Also Trent Jr. and Bruce Brown were out along with the usuals Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl.
With the loss to the Nets, the Raptors finish the season 1-15 against the Atlantic Division which is a new franchise low.
Toronto can now clinch the sixth-worst record in the league with another loss or a Memphis Grizzlies win.
If the Raptors finish the season with the sixth-worst record they will have a 45.8 percent chance of keeping its 2024 first-round pick which is top-6 protected.
Next on tap
The Raptors have two more games left on the season both against the Miami Heat.
Miami still has a lot to play for so it will be interesting to see how the Raptors handle these games.
Have you subscribed to the Raptors Nation YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
