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On a review night that brought back memories of the head-to-head between Vancouver and Toronto on the NBA stage, two Canadians stood out in a Boxing Day matchup between the host Grizzlies and visiting Raptors.

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For Toronto, it was RJ Barrett who stepped up. For Memphis, it was Toronto native Zach Edey who proved all the critics wrong who were convinced his methodical play wouldn’t work at the pro level.

Barrett flirted with a triple-double, while Edey’s double-double helped the Grizzlies to their 155-126 win. There were so many points, and yet the Raptors never had a lead.

Edey’s night was made less stressful by the unavailability of Toronto big man Jakob Poeltl (groin).

When Memphis picked up the pace, the Raptors were overwhelmed, trailing by as many as 19 points.

When Toronto defended, it competed, but the night was all about offense, with Barrett and Edey among the game’s best.

It was the Raptors’ ninth straight loss as their away record fell to 1-14

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They can’t win without Poeltl’s presence, they have absolutely no chance if Scottie Barnes continues to shoot the basketball so poorly, and they have absolutely no chance if their defense is this bad.

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Edey transformed himself into a modern-day Wilt Chamberlain, knowing that a television audience at home had tuned in to see him play against his hometown team for the first time.

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic had enough of officiating the game, his emotions and frustration boiling over two minutes into the fourth quarter when he was ejected. His ejection secured him one for the team.

At least Rajakovic showed fight, but he went well over the finish line and was rightly sent off.

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