Raptors Kick Off Exhibition Sked Against Celtics In Rome
Posted October 6, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Raptors season is underway, in a manner of speaking.
The Raps got their 2007-08 exhibition schedule started Saturday, visiting their young Italian star Andrea Bargnani‘s hometown of Rome, where they fell to the star-studded Boston Celtics 89-85.
Newcomer Kevin Garnett scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in his Celtics debut and Paul Pierce added 21 points for Boston . Of Boston ‘s big three, only Ray Allen had an off night with only 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
Saturday’s game marked the start of the NBA Europe Live tour, staring in Rome where Bargnani, last year’s top overall draft pick by Toronto , played his first game in his hometown in an NBA jersey, scoring 13 points in less than 15 minutes of action.
T.J. Ford and Anthony Parker started at guard for the Raptors, with Chris Bosh and Jason Kapono at forward and Bargnani at centre. Ford led the Raptors with 15 points.
The Raptors take on Roma Sunday before leaving Italy for Spain to play Real Madrid. Back-up point guard Jose Calderon and forward Jorge Garbajosa are both Spanish and play for the national team.
The Celtics meet Garnett’s former club, the Minnesota Timberwolves, on Wednesday in London .
