The Toronto Raptors beat the Boston Celtics 119-118 in their first game back at Scotiabank Arena.
The Raptors caught fire from three early as Scottie Barnes and Gradey Dick got off to a blistering start. The Celtics did march a comeback, but the Raptors were able to hold on for the win thanks to a Branden Carlson game-winning block.
After losing their previous two preseason games, the Raptors showed a lot of positives in this victory.
Vintage Scottie Barnes
Barnes had a near triple-double against the Celtics. He finished the night with 26 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Barnes hit five three-pointers, which included hitting three triples in a row. Barnes looked like he was in mid-season form which is great to see with the regular season starting next week.
Gradey Dick’s big offensive performance
After struggling to shoot the basketball earlier in the preseason, Dick was in the zone against the Celtics especially early on. He had a big offensive outing scoring 27 points on 12-for-21 shooting in 32 minutes. Dick hit three threes and looked confident pulling up for jumpshots. He was also able to finish inside. Hopefully, Dick can display more consistency like this moving forward.
Davion Mitchell looks like a capable backup point guard
Mitchell looks like the answer at backup point for the Raptors. He displayed good playmaking chops and continues to showcase solid point-of-attack defense. If Mitchell can shoot it as well as he did against Boston, hitting three threes, then he will have a big season for Toronto.
Ochai Agbaji had his best game yet
Agbaji had his best game in a Raptors uniform with 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting. The biggest thing for Agbaji is contributing on the offensive end and if he can do more of this going forward it would be a big boost for Toronto.
The only negative in this game for the Raptors was that Jamal Shead exited in the first-half with left hamstring tightness and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Next on tap
The Raptors will wrap up their preseason schedule on Oct. 18 against the Brooklyn Nets.
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