It was early in the first quarter when OG Anunoby corralled the ball beyond the three-point arc for the Toronto Raptors with a straight-ahead look at the basket.
The rangy forward hesitated a moment, gave a pump fake, and then floated the ball home from long distance that brought whoops of joy from the hometown faithful who once again jammed Scotiabank Arena on Friday night.
Toronto coach Nick Nurse said before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers that the Raptors needed to get Anunoby going offensively, and the 6-foot-8 athlete seemed to heed the advice.
Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard drives to the basket as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Rodney Hood defends during second half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Dec. 21, 2018.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
With the Raptors roster in a bit of a shambles with key personnel out, Anunoby was able to match his season high of 17 points – before the end of the first half – which went a long way toward helping Toronto carve out a 126-110 victory over the Cavaliers.
Anunoby finished with 21 points – tying his career high – off an efficient 9-of-14 shooting to help subdue the struggling Cavaliers.
While Anunoby was solid, Kawai Leonard was even better, powering to a season-best 37 points, the ninth time this season he has notched 30 or more in a game as the Raptors improved their NBA-leading record to 25-9. The Cavaliers fell to 8-25.
“It was great to see OG get off to such a hot start,” Nurse said afterwards. “It’s too bad he got into a little foul trouble, could let him really roll out some minutes.
As it was, Anunoby did his damage logging just over 22 minutes while racking up five personal fouls. He also grabbed eight rebounds, second only to Pascal Siakam’s 10.
Toronto took a 99-93 lead into the fourth quarter where the Cavaliers, to their credit, hung in longer than many anticipated.
Anunoby loped in for a thunderous jam that lifted his total to 21 and provided Toronto with a 104-97 advantage.
But it was back-to-back long-distant strikes, the first by Fred VanVleet and the second three by Leonard with just over four minutes left that deflated the Cavaliers, elevating the Toronto lead to 115-102.
“I still believe in the guy,” Nurse said before the game in reference to Anunoby, the second-year British native who entered Friday’s game averaging 7.6 points a game.
The Raptors were in dire need for others to pick up the slack with a locker room that these days is masquerading as a MASH unit, down four regulars.
Centre Jonas Valanciunas continues to sit with a dislocated left thumb.
Point guard Kyle Lowry missed his fourth successive game battling an assortment of aches and pains that began with a left thigh contusion. And forward Serge Ibaka missed his second in a row with a swollen right knee.
And just before game time, the Raptors said that swingman Danny Green, who has a sore left knee, would miss his first game of the season.
With such a casualty list, even a game against the lowly Cavaliers, among the NBA’s bottom-feeders now that LeBron James is in Los Angeles, couldn’t be viewed as a “walk in the cake” as former star Dikembe Mutombo once famously misspoke.
“They’re all tough games right now,” Nurse lamented before the game. “When you’re down three, four, five bodies, every game we’re scrapping and clawing for everything we can get."
Nurse had to stitch together a starting five that consisted of VanVleet at the point, guard Delon Wright, Leonard at forward, Pascal Siakam at centre with Anunoby getting the nod at power forward.
Given the injury circumstances, it was imperative that the Raptors get off to a strong start, which they did, surging to a 12-2 lead with Anunoby accounting for eight of the points.
Anunoby was on fire in the quarter, accounting for 15 points after knocking down six of his seven shots, including three threes, to send Toronto into the second quarter with a 34-28 lead.
A man of few words, Anunoby was asked if there was a key to his hot start. “No,” he said in a voice just above a whisper. “We were just moving the ball, being aggressive.”
A driving layup by Anunoby with just under five minutes left in the second quarter was his 17th point. It provided the Raptors with a 50-43 lead en-route to a 59-52 bulge at the half.
Leonard tallied 15 of his total in a dominating third quarter where his effort helped extend Toronto’s lead to as many as 14 points.
The Scotiabank Arena had close to 20,000 on hand, the 200th consecutive game that the Raptors have sold out.
The Raptors will have little time to recharge as they play Saturday night in Philadelphia against the 76ers.