Toronto Raptors Finish On High Note: 2022 NBA Summer League Recap

The heat turns up in the desert, in particular at the Cox Pavilion as the 2022 NBA Summer League reached its conclusion and the champions crowned. While the Toronto Raptors had come up short of the title they had still produced great things in Las Vegas, even up to the last day.

On the fifteenth they played the Miami Heat, who had the early slender lead before an 8-0 run which saw them go ahead by double digits. Rodions Kurucs hit plenty of inside looks and closed the gap, Amori Brooks and Jeff Dowtin combining put the Raptors up two at the end of an eventful first quarter.

The Heat kept it tight but before long the Raptors catching fire from three line and after a 13-2 run they led by thirteen. Kyle Allman and Haywood Highsmith tried to keep the fight going for Miami, but they kept coming up short far more than Toronto; Dalano Banton and Ron Harper Jr.'s inside looks for the Raptors saw them go twenty points clear midway through the third.

Miami began the final quarter trailing by 21, but eight points without reply and eight more later on the saw the gap go down to just five. Banton and Kurucs put up late looks and the team kept converting from the line down the stretch to see out victory. Banton was once again the leading scorer for Toronto with 18 points, while Harper and Kurucs reached double digits for the first time in the 88-78 win over the Heat.

This win set them up a final fixtures against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. Draft pick Christian Koloko had the best early looks for Toronto in a close opening to the game, with Iverson Molinar and Lindell Wigginton keeping it tight towards the end of the first. Barcello had seven unanswered to increase the Raptors' lead and Vital later made that lead a double-digit one, an advanage they maintained in the face of tenacious offence from Wigginton.

After a 12-0 run in the third Toronto's lead reached twenty points, when the game moved to the fourth quarter Milwaukee hit twelve without reply, cutting their deficit down ahead of the final stretch. However no soon after this the Bucks went cold, allowing the Raptors to close out the win 80 to 69. Abu Kigab was a stand-out with a game-high 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, with five more Raptors players finishing their final Summer League game in double digits.

This hugely successful Summer League campaign for the Raptors has seen some interesting prospects emerge, chief among them Dalano Banton and Amori Brooks, as well as those who have turned heads in their absence. Only time will tell if the exploits here were enough to earn them an NBA contract when the season gets underway.