As Wednesday night’s home opener ticked into the third quarter, the Raptors to that point looked much like the team we’ve seen over the past few years. Yes, the personnel has changed, and sure maybe they’re not as good as they were at their peak. But Toronto was still making their opponent, the New Orleans Pelicans, work for what they got — and their offense, while sometimes clunky, looked to be cooking just well enough to deliver a win.
But then those same Pelicans went on a tear. What seemed like a brief blip — a 10-0 run that had the Raptors on their heels — turned into a tidal wave going the other way.