The preseason is under way. Terrence Ross is day-to-day, Tyler Hansbrough made a corner three, and Vancouver got to watch live NBA basketball again.
The Raptors opened preseason tonight with a 99-94 win over the Sacramento Kings. The game was played at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, and the fans were very into the game from the jump, and got an exciting (relatively, since it was a preseason game) finish in the fourth quarter for their enthusiasm.
DeMar DeRozan scored 14 points in the first half while Terrence Ross added 8 points in the first two quarters including this breakaway slam (DeRozan would finish with 21 points, Ross with 11). After leading 47-42 at the half, the Kings took over in the third quarter and led by seven heading into the fourth quarter.
But the Raptors rallied, led by Lou Williams and a corner three from Tyler Hansbrough (!). We definitely got a glimpse of what Sweet Lou can do in the fourth quarter. Psycho T has been working on the corner three all summer, and yes, he's perfect so far in preseason from downtown. I love preseason (not).
Other things of note:
- Ross suffered a right knee contusion and is day-to-day. Ban preseason
- For the Kings' perspective, here's the game recap from Sactown Royalty
- Nik Stauskas played 26 minutes and scored 12 points, including two three-pointers, and a great ovation from the Canadian crowd
- Sim Bhullar played 19 seconds
- DNP-CDs: Patrick Patterson, Bruno Caboclo, Lucas Nogueira, Will Cherry and Landry Fields. #FreeBruno
- Isiah Thomas was courtside, and when Big Country Reeves was shown on the Jumbotron, the fans booed
The Raptors and Kings will play again on Tuesday in Sacramento. And with that, the new season has begun, kind of.