TORONTO — Deng Adel couldn't miss. Delon Wright was shooting threes. And Norm Powell was playing with more force than he has in awhile.
On a night that was part game, part tryout, the trio of young Toronto Raptors players got high marks from coach Nick Nurse.
Powell scored 21 points to lead Toronto to a 120-82 pre-season victory Friday night over Australian team Melbourne United.
But with stars Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry taking the night off to rest, and four other Raptors missing for various reasons, there were plenty of minutes for players either looking for regular spots in Nurse's rotation, or still trying to make the cut before NBA rosters are set Oct. 15.
Powell had three three-pointers, and went hard to the rim a couple of times for dunks before he left the game in the third quarter with a thigh contusion.
"He was really solid tonight and that's kind of the main thing," Nurse said. "A couple of years ago he was a really good attacker of the rim and that kind of somewhere got lost in the shuffle a little bit last year. He's back to that a little bit, playing a little bit more in the system we want him to. . . I've been impressed with what he’s done this fall."
Powell drove to the hoop and kicked it out to Wright for a three-pointer in the third quarter, the pretty play was part of a 15-point performance by Wright, put Toronto up by 30, and earned praise from Nurse.
"(Wright) was good. My favourite part was he was pulling the trigger on a three ball," Nurse said. "He needs to do that . . . He was good, I liked his pace and I thought he was good defensively as well."
Adel, who played basketball in Melbourne growing up, shot 5-for-5 from the field for 13 points in 12 minutes.
"That was really the first look we got at him," Nurse said. "It's tough sometimes with 20 guys in camp to get even looks in practices in the real scrimmages because you're trying to get your main guys the reps in the five-on-five action. That was really the first look, what is he, 5-for-5 from the field?"
Pascal Siakam added 19 points, and Malachi Richardson finished with 10 for the Raptors, who were also missing C.J. Miles (rest), Fred VanVleet (stiff hamstring), Montreal's Chris Boucher (back spasms), and OG Anunoby (personal reasons).
Lowry and Leonard played most of the first half of the Raptors' first two pre-season games. It's a fine line between giving the two time to develop chemistry on the court, and the rest they'll need heading into what the team hopes is a long NBA season.
"Listen, there's two ways to look at it," Nurse said. "Would we like to give them a bunch of minutes? Yeah, probably. But there's a lot of games to be played, too, and we've got to always keep that in mind with some veteran-type players. We're still easing Kawhi into things a little bit, too, so it’s not too bad, really."
Sitting all but nine games with San Antonio last season due to a quadriceps injury, the Raptors' medical staff continues to keep a close eye on the team's new star.
Lowry watched Friday's game from the end of the bench, his younger son Kameron perched on his lap. Leonard appeared on the bench after halftime, prompting cheers from the Scotiabank Arena crowd.
Melbourne, which was coming off a 104-84 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, kept it close through the first quarter. The Raptors led 23-17 going into the second, and took a 57-39 lead into halftime and the rout was on. They led 101-58 with one quarter to play.
Chris Goulding and Casper Ware Jr. had 17 points apiece to lead Melbourne United, one of five NBL teams that are playing in seven games in the NBA pre-season, the first time a country has sent five teams to take part. Some 68 per cent of players in the NBL played basketball in the U.S. college system.
Melbourne boasts a former Australian rules football player in forward Craig Moller.
The Raptors host the New Jersey Nets at Montreal's Bell Centre on Wednesday, then play the next night in New Orleans to cap the pre-season.
They host Cleveland in their season-opener on Oct. 17, then are home to Boston two nights later.
Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press
