<p>Toronto Raptors forward Bruce Brown (11) celebrates a dunk during first half NBA basketball action against the Atlanta Hawks, in Toronto, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. Brown is playing his first game back with the team after arthroscopic knee surgery in the off-season. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn</p>

TORONTO - Bruce Brown intercepted a pass and streaked down the court, driving past some token defence from Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson for a one-handed slam dunk.

Brown's Toronto Raptors teammates burst off the home team's bench, cheering for the veteran forward.

"It's just because they didn't think I can jump, because I haven't jumped really, or they haven't seen it, and then they didn't see it the last year," Brown said, adding he knew he would dunk as soon as he crossed half-court.

"I told them I could do it and I was like, ‘if I get the chance to, I'mma dunk it.'"

It was Brown's first dunk in eight months as he scored 12 points and had three rebounds off the bench in his season debut on Sunday as Toronto lost to Atlanta 136-107. He'd missed the first 31 games of the Raptors season as he recovered from arthroscopic knee surgery on Sept. 20, a process that took longer than he expected.

"I thought I was gonna be out like six to eight weeks but some things didn't go my way," said Brown. "There was a lot of swelling in there for a while.

"Things happened, and then I was supposed to come back, like, three, four weeks ago, but there was still swelling there, so they told me to take my time."

Brown averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks over 34 games with the Raptors last season. He was traded from the Indiana Pacers to Toronto on Jan. 18 as part of a package for all-star forward Pascal Siakam.

He's averaged 8.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists over his career in 416 games with the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana and Toronto.

Brown's return doesn't just add depth to the Raptors' lineup, but brings some much-needed energy to a struggling team that has lost 10 in a row.

"You see him get out there and put his body on the line after being out for so long," said Scottie Barnes, who led Toronto with 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists but eight turnovers in the loss. "He's making himself so tired out there just guarding, pushing himself. That's what the team needs.

"We've all got to match that energy every single night. That's the effort we're going to need in order to win games."

Head coach Darko Rajakovic said that fatigue is a major factor in the NBA's longest active losing skid. He said that a lack of focus played a role in Toronto's season-high 31 turnovers on Sunday.

"We hit a wall. We look tired. We look drained," said Rajakovic. "Guys are not in a rhythm. That's the reality that we're in right now. We've got to find a way to get out of it."

It was the third consecutive game where the Raptors had given up over 130 points, and second 29-point blowout in a row.

"Getting beat by 30, man, at home — that's unacceptable," said Barnes. "We can't be doing that. We got to go out there and play harder, be smarter.

"We had a lot of turnovers today. We can't allow this to happen."

Brown was more optimistic.

"We just need some rest, and we'll push through it," he said, noting that a stomach flu had spread through Toronto's locker room. "I mean, all teams have this at some point, even championship teams, so we'll push through it. We'll be fine."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2024.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2024