The Raptors got the start they were hoping for on the first leg of a gruelling five-game road trip through the Western Conference. Unfortunately, it came at a steep cost.
On a night when Toronto should have been celebrating Pascal Siakam matching his career high with 44 points in a 122-104 victory over the Pelicans on Friday, the team was instead reeling from injuries to a pair of their biggest stars.
Point guard Kyle Lowry injured his surgically repaired left thumb and centre Serge Ibaka went down with a right ankle sprain. After the game, coach Nick Nurse described Lowry’s injury as a “small fracture.