Gary Trent Jr. Heats Up Off the Bench But Raptors Blown Out By Pelicans

The Toronto Raptors had no answers for Zion Williamson but a great game from Gary Trent Jr. left a silver lining in a blowout loss to the New Orleans Pelicans

Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Raptors seldom give away trade secrets. At times, it's become a bit of a running joke with head coach Nick Nurse who regularly plays coy with the media, occasionally outright lying about his lineups and schemes.

But over the weekend there was a moment of honesty from Nurse who was asked by a local coach at Toronto's open gym practice how he talks to his team after games and how much those speeches change based on the outcome of any particular game.

I don't talk to the team, Nurse said. Sure, he'll let them know the schedule for the following day, if there's practice or not, etc. But if you're looking for some speech, you're not getting it from Nurse.

If there was ever a night to change that, Wednesday's 126-108 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans would be as good a night as ever. It was embarrassing. Toronto surrendered 40 points in the first quarter, 34 points in the second quarter, and never looked quite themselves.

The defense that had looked so stellar on Monday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers just never showed up. The Raptors couldn't slow Zion Williamson, couldn't get out to shooters, and were dominated on the glass at both ends of the court.

The Raptors made things interesting in the fourth quarter, cutting New Orleans' 31-point lead down to just 11, but that was as close as they'd get. Williamson picked off a bad pass from O.G. Anunoby and took it the other way for a transition dunk. Moments later he wrapped things up, grabbing an offensive board and going back up with the bucket, silencing any chance of a Raptors comeback.

6th Man Gary

Scottie Barnes was back in the starting lineup Wednesday night, but Gary Trent Jr.'s move to the bench seems to be more of a long-term change. Ironically, Trent has played much better over the past two games while coming off the bench, only further solidifying him in that spot.

Trent opened the Wednesday night by finding Christian Koloko rolling to the rim, flashing the kind of passing skills that have been so lacking from his game this year. He followed it up by taking an aggressive drive to the hoop, finishing the layup through contact, exactly as the Raptors would like to see. He then added a catch-and-shoot three from Juancho Hernangomez, again, nailing the kind of bucket Toronto has been looking for from the 23-year-old guard.

He fully broke out of his shooting funk in the second half, nailing four three-pointers after the break and finishing the night with a season-high 35 points on 12-for-20 shooting. In doing so, he set a franchise record for the most points scored off the bench by a Raptor.

Otto Porter Jr. could move into the starting lineup to add a little more three-point shooting to the unit when he's back healthy in a few weeks, but for now it appears to be Thad Young's spot to lose.

VanVleet Ejected in 3rd

The good news for Toronto is Fred VanVleet should well rested on Friday after playing just 20 minutes on Wednesday. The disappointment of the first half spilled over into the second and it took all of 40 seconds for the 28-year-old point guard to take his second technical foul of the night. He clapped in frustration toward an official after a foul call and was promptly T-ed up.

Fred VanVleet's night is over after receiving a 2nd technical foul on this play. pic.twitter.com/YSDNAgHy6O

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 1, 2022

Up Next: Brooklyn Nets

The Raptors will have the day off to lick their wounds before heading to Brooklyn to take on Kevin Durant and the Nets at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday.