Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley's double-doubles lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a win over the Toronto Raptors.

TORONTO — A little more than six minutes into Saturday's Toronto Raptors game, Kelly Olympique fulfilled a lifelong dream.

After that, things went downhill.

Olympique, whose parents both worked for the Raptors before the family moved to Kamloops, BC, made his debut for his hometown team in a 119-95 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Olynyk finished with 11 points and six rebounds and said he will always remember the ovation he received from the sold-out Scotiabank Arena crowd of more than 19,800 when he checked out.

Olynyk, who won Canada's bronze medal at the FIBA ​​World Championship in September, said: “It's just amazing. It's a special, special moment.” “With the support and love from all over the country, it was obvious.”

Olympian and guard Ochai Agbaji were traded by the Utah Jazz to Toronto on Thursday, hours before the NBA trade deadline. Both came off the bench as they had a brief shootaround Saturday to learn the Raptors' offensive and defensive schemes.

“You don't really know what's going on on either side of the floor. I think it was clear in the first half,” Olynyk laughed. “In the second half, we found a little bit of a rhythm and found some simple sets that everybody knows.”

Scotty Barnes' triple-double was wasted as Toronto (19-34) ended its modest two-game winning streak. Barnes finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the first Raptor to record three 20-point triple-doubles in a season.

Barnes sees plenty of potential playing alongside Olynyk and Agbaji, who finished with eight points.

“Utah's way of playing with defensive principles and things like that was new to them, but we've got to learn from it and adjust,” Barnes said. “It's going to take some time.”

Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley had two-run doubles as Cleveland (35-16) won its ninth straight. Allen had 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Mobley had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell scored 15 points for the Cavaliers, who had eight players reach double figures.

“We passed the ball really well tonight,” Allen said. “Everyone moved, everyone contributed to a great game.

Toronto led 16-13 when Olynyk entered the game, but Cleveland outscored the Raptors 17-8 over the final five minutes of the first to take a 30-24 lead.

“Once we started getting the new guys in, it was hard for them to know what we were doing, what we wanted to do defensively,” Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “There were a lot of breakdowns, but that's to be expected, and now we're going to have a shootout and do a little bit of work to get ready for San Antonio (Monday).”

Agbaji made it a layup with 17 seconds left in the half, but it cut Cleveland's lead to 67-47 after a dominant second from Mobley. He had eight points in the quarter, even as Barnes led all scorers in the period with 11 points.

Cleveland didn't let up in the third, with Allen scoring six goals to help the visitors maintain a healthy lead. Rajakovic relied heavily on his reserves at quarterback, along with Bruce Brown, Olympian and rookie Grady Dick, as Toronto saw significant playing time as they looked for some kind of spark.

The Raptors never found their footing, with the Cavs taking a 95-73 lead into the final quarter.

With Cleveland still leading by 21 points with 2:30 left in the game, both teams brought players out from deep at their positions.

10-DAY DEALS — The Raptors signed forward Justise Winslow and forward Mouhamadou Gui to 10-day contracts on Saturday. Winslow averaged 16.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 26.8 minutes for the Raptors this season. Gueye averaged 14.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 30.9 minutes for Toronto's G-League affiliate.

UP NEXT – Toronto hosts the lowly San Antonio Spurs on Monday.

Cleveland hosts the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 10, 2024.