By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
In every meeting between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors, the coaches of both teams honor their friend and colleague, the late Dejan Milojevic.
“We get together and have one rakija in his name,” said the head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Darko Rajakovic, while wearing a ‘brate’ shirt in a pregame press conference and referring to a traditional fruit brandy in Serbia.
Milojevic passed away in 2024 after suffering a heart attack during a team dinner in Salt Lake City. Besides being a coaching staff member of the Warriors from 2021, he had deep ties with several more coaches in the league, including Rajakovic.
Meanwhile, the team coached by Serbian Rajakovic improved to 19-14 in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season after keeping Stephen Curry scoreless in overtime to prevail, 141-127, in Scotiabank Arena on Sunday.
“I saw a video the other day when Coach Pop was saying, ‘What is the game plan for Luka?’ and he said to keep him under 50, and after the game, Luka had 51. So, our goal tonight was to keep him at 39. We did our job,” noted the 46-year-old play-caller in the postgame press conference, mirroring Gregg Popovich following a 51-point display by Luka Doncic in 2023.
With Curry stopped at 39 points, Dutch starter Quinten Post registered eight points, two assists, two rebounds, and one block in 18:08. Fellow Dutch option for Steve Kerr’s side, Malevy Leons, remained on assignment with the G League affiliate, Santa Cruz Warriors.
Besides Scottie Barnes putting up 23 points, 25 rebounds, and ten assists for the winning side, Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili logged 21:48 off the bench, chipping in 13 points on 6/11 field goals, six rebounds, two steals, and one block.
With Austrian Jakob Poeltl (lower back strain) remaining sidelined, the Raptors are reinforcing the five position with Mo Bamba agreeing to a one-year contract, according to ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania.