Toronto Raptors Take First Blood in Vegas: 2022 NBA Summer League Recap
The Toronto Raptors' Summer League team faced the Philadelphia 76ers in their first fixture in the biggest show stage for prospective NBA talent in Las Vegas.
A twelve-strong roster rolled in to Vegas hoping they will be wearing a Raptors jersey once again in October. Raptors' assistant coach Trevor Gleeson assumed head coaching duties for Summer League and his team included the team's freshly selected draft pick Christian Koloko, 905 standout Dalano Banton along with many other players with all levels of basketball experience, including the NBA.
Philadelphia took the early lead but Toronto were soon on the hunt after them. Jeff Dowtin began a run of sixteen unanswered points for the Raptors early on, then a three-point play from Aromi Brooks the Sixers ended the first quarter trailing by double digits. After all manner of plays to begin the second quarter, successive layups from Philly's Cassius Winston began a 15-0 run which put them back in front.
Trailing by six, Toronto looked to re-assert themselves at the top of the second half but Isaiah Joe was there to and restore the more comfortable advantage to Philly. Each Raptors success seemed to be met with an immediate Sixers response until Banton hit eight points in a row for Toronto, then four more from the stripe to edge the team back in front.
The 76ers tried to slow the game down as it entered its final period but following a series of spectacular plays - hook from David Johnson, a reverse layup from Rodions Kurucs, an alley-oop dunk from D.J. Wilson - Toronto were leading by nine ahead of the final stretch. They had eleven more without reply to emphatically roll home to a big victory, 97-77 in their opening game against Philadelphia.
Brooks led all scorers with 25 points along with seven rebounds, while Dalano Banton had an equally impressive showing where he finished an assist shy of a double-double, dishing nine while scoring thirteen. Joe was the only Sixer to score in double-digits, posting 24 points in the loss.
Gleeson's Raptors open Summer League with a big win courtesy of some impressive players we will hopefully see more of the same from as the tournament continues. Toronto will next face Chicago and Utah in successive days followed by the Miami Heat on July 15th. Check here for updates and reports on all of Toronto's Summer League exploits.
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