Title: Adrian Griffin, bench help Raptors secure best regular-season win percentage
Date: August 12, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about the Raptors locking up their best regular season ever with a fill-in coach and their third-string players.
Dewan Hernandez hitting a clutch 3 and with a pivotal drive for a finish through contact. Stanley Johnson with a game-winner. Paul Watson Jr. with a game-saving steal and free throws to lock in the best regular-season winning percentage in Toronto Raptors franchise history.
If that doesn’t sound like the way Nick Nurse would draw it up, that’s because he didn’t. Instead, it was assistant coach Adrian Griffin at the helm of Wednesday’s incredible — no, seriously — 125-121 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“You really can’t put it into words. It really touches me,” Griffin said of his team’s response. “You know, these guys, we go to war with them, we won a championship together, the highs and lows, and they’re your family, they are your brothers out there. … First, I have to thank Coach Nurse. He didn’t have to do this. Honestly, for one night, I felt like Cinderella. I had the glass slippers on and it was great. Tomorrow it’s back to reality, but it was an awesome feeling.”
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 