NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates 
The Toronto Raptors preseason finally came to an end tonight as they fell to the Detroit Pistons in a well-fought battle that ended 129-125 in the Pistons’ favour.
In a turn of events that could be surprising to some and completely predictable to others, Toronto went to their bench entirely, sitting most of their rotation players for the entirety of the night. Allen Graves, Alijah Martin, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jaden Bradley, and Nimari Burnett started for the Raptors. Detroit countered with their starters, seemingly working more on their regular season rotation than final roster decisions.
Advertisement
This was a great opportunity for everyone who checked in for the Raptors to show what they’ve got. Alijah Martin had a strong showing during the first half, more as a scorer than a distributor. He’d already racked up 15 by the midway point and didn’t play much in the second half, having already demonstrated his abilities.
Allen Graves looked like he is starting to come into his own. In the first quarter alone, he had a couple of good hustle putbacks that rocked the rim. He’s still struggling with his shot, but it’s way too early in his rookie campaign to worry. He finished the night with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block.
Malachi Smith led all scorers and had a phenomenal game, looking owed more than the two-way he’s currently on. He ended the night with 24-5-3. Nimari Burnett also had a great showing tonight with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Trayce Jackson-Davis had some solid minutes, finishing with 23 points and 3 rebounds, and a perfect record from the free-throw line if you don’t count the one he intentionally missed to try and force overtime.
Advertisement
Despite the mismatch in terms of guaranteed contract money, the deep bench held their own. There were the expected little mistakes that you’d see from less-experienced guys, losing their dribble or passes that aren’t on time or target, but despite that, the effort was enough to compensate. The perfect example of this was about halfway through the first. A sloppy pass and dribble through the paint led to the ball rolling loose towards the three…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/raptors-bench-full-fight-final-015602304.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-10-17 01:56:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
