3 Studs, 2 Duds from Raptors’ Summer League domination of Thunder

The Toronto Raptors wish this one counted in the official standings.

The Toronto Raptors didn’t bring a Top-10 pick to Las Vegas Summer League; that’s usually a recipe for a shaky team showing. Where they did have an advantage in their roster construction was in bringing a number of players on their roster; for the most part, their rotation was made up of players good enough to earn a roster spot with the Raptors.

That depth served them well as they absolutely blew the doors off of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night in the Las Vegas Summer League opener for both teams. The Raptors jumped out to a 27-7 lead to start the game, pushed the lead to as much as 35-13, and went into the half up 21 points.

The Thunder battled back in the second half, with former Baylor wing Adam Flagler raining down 3-pointers, and the Raptors saw their lead dwindle to just nine points midway through the fourth quarter, with Oklahoma City going on a 37-15 run after halftime. Then the Raptors put the clamps on them, crashing the glass and nailing their 3-pointers while suffocating the Thunder on the other end, closing the game on a 21-5 run to ultimately win 94-69.

For the game, Oklahoma City managed just 36 total rebounds to Toronto’s 54, and despite the Thunder’s superior size they couldn’t keep the Raptors off the glass. They also sent the Raptors to the free-throw line for 19 attempts compared to just 11 of their own.

Let’s look at 3 studs and 2 duds from the game for the Raptors.