Juan Blanco, RotoWire
A key late missed free throw and a 46-point first half helped the Toronto Raptors squeak by the Denver Nuggets, 82-81, in Las Vegas Summer League action Monday afternoon at Cox Pavilion.
The Raptors (3-0) managed to stay perfect in Las Vegas Summer League play despite an impressive 28-point third-quarter push by the Nuggets (0-3). Denver managed to outperform Toronto from long range by draining 37.9 percent of its three-point attempts (compared to the Raptors’ 33.3 percent), but it was surpassed in virtually every other major category. The Raptors were particularly sharp from the free-throw line, posting a 90 percent success rate on 10 shots. Each team featured four players that hit double-digit points, and there were plenty of promising young players on both sides that already boast NBA experience.
Jakob Poeltl and Fred VanVleet, who played a combined 91 games for the Raptors last season, led the way with matching 17-point efforts. Poeltl added 10 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block, while VanVleet managed three assists and two rebounds. Pascal Siakam, coming off a run as Toronto’s starting power forward during the 2016-17 campaign, posted a full line of 14 points, seven boards, four assists, three blocks and two steals. Alfonzo McKinnie tallied an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double that also included two assists and a steal. Paul Watson led the reserves with six points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Despite the loss, the Nuggets received another encouraging performance from 2016 first-round pick Malik Beasley, who dropped 19 points, five boards, an assist, a steal and a block. Torrey Craig, undrafted in 2015 and looking to latch onto a roster spot, supplied 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal over 20 minutes to lead the bench. Former Sixers big man Henry Sims totaled 12 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Hernangomez filled out the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Tyler Lydon, a 2017 first-round pick, only mustered three points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks over 29 minutes.
Both teams now await the final playoff seeding for the Las Vegas Summer League playoffs, which begin Wednesday.
