TORONTO -- Norm Powell scored 21 points to lead Toronto to a 120-82 pre-season victory Friday over Australian team Melbourne United, on a night that was part game, part tryout.
Stars Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry, who took the night off to rest, were among half a dozen Raptors missing for various reasons, freeing up minutes for players still trying to make the cut before NBA rosters are set Oct. 15.
"You bring 20 guys to camp, it's a little difficult to get all of them a decent look," said Raptors coach Nick Nurse. "There's also a chance now to give some long extended minutes to some other guys."
Pascal Siakam added 19 points, while Delon Wright finished with 15, Deng Adel had 13 and Malachi Richardson finished with 10.
Powell hopes to find a spot in Nurse's regular rotation after struggling last season, but left Friday's game in the third quarter with a thigh contusion.
The Raptors were also missing C.J. Miles (rest), Fred VanVleet (stiff hamstring), Montreal's Chris Boucher (back spasms), and OG Anunoby (personal reasons).
Lowry and Leonard played most of the first half of the Raptors' first two pre-season games. It's a fine line between giving the two time to develop chemistry on the court, and the rest they'll need heading into what the team hopes is a long NBA season.
"Listen, there's two ways to look at it," Nurse said. "Would we like to give them a bunch of minutes? Yeah, probably. But there's a lot of games to be played, too, and we've got to always keep that in mind with some veteran-type players. We're still easing Kawhi into things a little bit, too, so it's not too bad, really."
Sitting all but nine games with San Antonio last season due to a quadriceps injury, the Raptors' medical staff continues to keep a close eye on the team's new star.
Lowry watched Friday's game from the end of the bench, his younger son Kameron perched on his lap. Leonard appeared on the bench after halftime, promting cheers from the Scotiabank Arena crowd.
Melbourne, which was coming off a 104-84 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, kept it close through the first quarter. The Raptors led 23-17 going into the second. Toronto took a 57-39 lead into halftime and the rout was on. When Powell drove to the hoop and kicked it out to Wright for a three-pointer midway through the third, the pretty play put Toronto up by 30.
The Raptors led 101-58 with one quarter to play.
Chris Goulding and Casper Ware Jr. had 17 points apiece to lead Melbourne United, one of five NBL teams that are playing in seven games in the NBA pre-season, the first time a country has sent five teams to take part. Some 68 per cent of players in the NBL played basketball in the U.S. college system.
Melbourne boasts a former Australian rules football player in forward Craig Moller.
The Raptors host the New Jersey Nets at Montreal's Bell Centre on Wednesday, then play the next night in New Orleans to cap the pre-season.
They host Cleveland in their season-opener on Oct. 17, then are home to Boston two nights later.
