Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet heaped praise on the professionalism and locked-in nature of his squad, while Scottie Barnes looked forward to Kyle Lowry's return to Toronto this weekend after a 102-89 win against the Orlando Magic.
With the win, the Raptors moved to 11-2 from their past 13 fixtures, including wins over championship contenders such as the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.
All five Raptors starters finished with at least 14 points, as VanVleet and rookie Scottie Barnes led the way with 19 points each.
VanVleet also added five steals and two blocks to his stat-line, while Barnes collected eight rebounds and dished out seven assists, with no turnovers.
Speaking to post-game media, VanVleet highlighted the value of chemistry as the core of himself, Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby remain from the Raptors' 2019 championship.
"The biggest thing chemistry does is extend your winning streaks, and helps you get out of funks," he said.
"When you have problems and you can address them, and you can communicate better, there's less BS going on, less hidden agendas.
"Everybody has hidden agendas – everybody has personal goals – but when you have good chemistry you can kind of all be on the same page.
"It's not easy all the time, everyone wants to be great in their own right, but I think we've all agreed on putting winning as the biggest picture and the number-one goal, and everything else falls under that."
A main factor of the Raptors' recent hot run has been their professionalism, with VanVleet highlighting how important it is to have a group of guys all locked in on their assignments.
"Over the last couple weeks we've been really locked into the game plans, and our attention to detail has been great," he said.
"That's one thing you look for, especially with a young team, how you can convert from walkthroughs and shoot-arounds and practices to the game.
"No plan is perfect – sometimes they're good, sometimes they're bad, but as long as we're all on the same page we give ourselves a chance, and we stick together. That's something that can go a long way."
Speaking on the court immediately after the win, star rookie Scottie Barnes looked forward to Kyle Lowry's return to Toronto on Sunday night.
"I already know it's going to be a packed house, for sure," he said.
"It's his first game back, and he did so much for the organization. He might be the best Toronto Raptor ever.
"It's going to be a memorable night for him, so we have to come ready to play."
When asked about his own personal hot-streak, which has seen Barnes become the bookmakers' second-favorite for Rookie of the Year behind Evan Mobley, he was optimistic about the best being yet to come.
"I'm just getting started really – our team is doing really good, we're ready to go to the playoffs," he said.
"I'm a winner – I've always been a winner."
Raptors reportedly hiring Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic as head coach
The Toronto Raptors have found their successor to Nick Nurse, hiring Memphis Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic to be their head coach.
The news was first reported Saturday by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Rajakovic will become the 10th coach in franchise history and was picked over Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee, according to Wojnarowski.
A native of Serbia, Rajakovic has been an NBA assistant coach since 2014, serving on the Grizzlies' staff the last three seasons.
His first coaching job in the NBA was with the Oklahoma City Thunder and after six seasons there he spent the 2019-20 season with the Phoenix Suns before becoming Taylor Jenkins' top assistant on the Memphis bench.
The last three seasons with Rajakovic on the staff, the Grizzlies have won a pair of Southwest Division titles while making the playoffs each time. They've compiled a .614 winning percentage - fifth best among all NBA teams in that span.
Rajakovic replaces Nurse, who led the Raptors to the franchise’s only title in 2019, but was fired on April 21, nine days after losing 109-105 to the Chicago Bulls in their play-in game.
Nurse, who was hired by the Philadelphia 76ers on May 29, led Toronto to a pair of Atlantic Division titles, however, the team finished last in the Atlantic this season with a 41-41 record to miss the playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons.
Rajakovic's hiring fills the final open coaching vacancy in the NBA.
Nuggets beat Heat to get within one win of franchise's first NBA championship
Aaron Gordon provided a huge lift with 27 points and the Denver Nuggets received contributions from several sources in a 108-95 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday to get within one win of the franchise’s first NBA championship.
Nikola Jokic worked around foul trouble to tally 23 points and 12 rebounds and Bruce Brown scored 11 of 21 points down the stretch to help the Nuggets take a 3-1 lead in the series. Denver can wrap up the title at home in Game 5 on Monday.
Jamal Murray scored 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting but had 12 assists. His shooting struggles were offset by Gordon, who was 11 of 15 from the field with six rebounds and six assists. Brown connected on 8 of 11 field goals and his third 3-pointer of the night with 1:21 left pushed the advantage to 108-91.
Jokic went to the bench with 9:24 to play after he committed his fifth foul with Denver holding a 10-point lead. He checked back in just over five minutes later with the Nuggets leading 96-87.
Jimmy Butler scored 25 points and Bam Adebayo added 20 with 11 rebounds, but the Heat had their final lead at 23-20 early in the second quarter. They cut the deficit to 94-87 midway through the fourth before Brown scored Denver’s next eight points to make it 102-91.
Miami appears to be wearing down with its sixth loss in eight games since taking a 3-0 lead over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
Denver Nuggets with one hand on NBA trophy after taking 3-1 finals series lead
The Denver Nuggets are within one game of claiming their first NBA championship after dismantling the Miami Heat 108-95 in the fourth game of the NBA finals.
The Nuggets return to Denver for game five of the seven-game series, where they will aim to win the franchise’s first Larry O’Brien trophy in their 56-year history.
Nikola Jokic again proved a mismatch for Miami, wthe Serbian posting 23 points and 10 rebounds.
He was ably supported by Aaron Gordon, who finished with a game-high 27 points in one of the best performances of his career.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined for 45 points for the Heat, who were ultimately let down by another poor shooting effort from three.
Miami shot just 32 per cent from deep, while the Nuggets drained half of their three-point attempts.
The Heat kept pace with the Nuggets early, maintaining just a four-point deficit at the half.
But Denver exploded for 31 points in the third quarter, claiming an advantage which, despite a rally late in the fourth, Miami were ultimately unable to overcome.
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