Allen and Mobley lead Cavs past Raptors 119-95
Global News
A little over six minutes into Saturday's Toronto Raptors game, Kelly Olynyk fulfilled a lifelong dream.
TORONTO – A little over six minutes into Saturday’s Toronto Raptors game, Kelly Olynyk fulfilled a lifelong dream.
Things went downhill from there.
Olynyk, whose parents both worked for the Raptors before the family moved to Kamloops, B.C., debuted for his hometown team in a 119-95 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Olynyk finished with 11 points and six rebounds and said he will always remember the ovation he got from the sold-out Scotiabank Arena crowd of 19,800 when he checked into the game.
“Just gives you chills. Special, special moment,” said Olynyk, who captained Canada to a bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup in September. “Having the support and love of this whole country, it was evident.”
Olynyk and guard Ochai Agbaji were traded to Toronto by the Utah Jazz on Thursday, hours before the NBA’s trade deadline. Both came off the bench, as they only had a brief shootaround earlier Saturday to learn the Raptors’ offensive and defensive schemes.
“You don’t know really what’s going on on both ends of the floor. I think that was probably pretty evident in the first half,” laughed Olynyk. “The second half, we kind of found a little bit of rhythm and found like a few simple sets that everybody kind of knew.”
Scottie Barnes’s triple-double was wasted as Toronto (19-34) saw its modest two-game win streak end. Barnes finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the first Raptor to record three 20-point triple-doubles in a single season.
Barnes sees a lot of potential playing alongside Olynyk and Agbaji, who finished with eight points.
