The Raptors Polished Off A Sweep Of The Nets To Setup A Showdown With Boston

As expected, the Toronto Raptors sent the Brooklyn Nets packing on Sunday night in Orlando, finishing off a dominant four-game sweep with a thorough 150-122 win in Game 4.

Norm Powell and Serge Ibaka led the way for the Raptors with 29 points and 27 points respectively off the bench, as the starters got much of the night off once Toronto took control of the game — Pascal Siakam, who finished with 20 points and 10 assists, was the only player who logged over 30 minutes. Powell was tremendous and the Raptors were able to flaunt their depth in the win, scoring 100 bench points and seeing six players in double figures (and three more with nine points) en route to the highest scoring game in Raptors postseason history.

There is some reason for concern for the Raptors despite the impressive showing, as Kyle Lowry left the game in the first quarter after rolling his left ankle and was taken to the Bubble’s MRI machine off-site. The hope, of course, is that he’ll avoid a serious ankle injury and will be able to be at full strength when they tip-off their second round series with Boston, who likewise finished off a sweep on Sunday afternoon.

The Lowry injury put a damper on an otherwise spectacular performance from a Raptors team that continues to roll right along, looking as cohesive a team as there is in the Bubble. Now they’ll face a stern test in a Celtics team that is likewise playing excellent ball and will throw a perimeter trio at them that is arguably as good as any three-man unit in the league with Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum. The Raptors boast their own triumverate on the outside with Lowry, Fred VanVleet, and Siakam, and the battle of those stars figures to play heavily into the series outcome.

However, even if those six players wash each other out, Toronto is banking on the fact that their role players can get the job done and keep the train rolling along on both ends to be the big difference in a series with Boston. On Sunday we got a reminder of just how deep their bench goes and what those guys are capable of when called upon, and this second round matchup figures to be a must-watch battle between two terrific teams.