Undermanned Raptors lose 112-98 to Brooklyn

Kyrie Irving scored 29 points in his third game back from suspension, and the Brooklyn Nets cruised to a 112-98 win over the undermanned Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

TORONTO – Kyrie Irving scored 29 points in his third game back from suspension, and the Brooklyn Nets cruised to a 112-98 win over the undermanned Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points to lead the Raptors (9-9), who were missing both Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes, plus half a dozen others. O.G. Anunoby finished with 15 points, while Thaddeus Young and Chris Boucher scored 12 apiece, and Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Juancho Hernangomez finished with 10 each.

Nic Claxton added 14 points and 12 rebounds for Brooklyn (9-10).

The injuries and illnesses continue to mount for Toronto. News that VanVleet was out with non-COVID illness caught reporters by surprise prior to Wednesday’s tipoff. Barnes (knee sprain) and Dalano Banton (ankle sprain) sat out the game.

Also missing were all-star forward Pascal Siakam, Precious Achiuwa, and Otto Porter Jr., who’ve all been nursing injuries, leaving the Raptors with nine players versus Brooklyn.

The beleaguered Raptors made a game of it for the first half, and trailed by just a point at the break, but ran out of gas against a Nets team at full strength.

The Nets led 91-76 to start the fourth quarter, and when Irving’s 26-footer dropped with 4:42 to play, Brooklyn went up by 20 and hundreds of fans zipped on their coats and headed for the exit.

Irving was booed during team introductions. The embattled guard had served an eight-game suspension for posting a link to a documentary with antisemitic material.