On a night where everyone was cooking, Toronto Raptors rookie Dalano Banton was no exception.

The rookie entered the game and made an immediate impact as the de facto backup point guard, shredding the Sacramento Kings’ defense to the tune of six assists (tying a career-high) while committing zero turnovers. Over and over, the Canadian undulated into the paint like a ceaseless and rolling wave, spraying kick-outs to the perimeter and occasionally rippling to the rim for an elegant finish.

But while Banton played so well in his time on the floor (a +11), he wound up recording only nine total minutes, far fewer than the rest of his teammates. In fact, the only player who racked up less time than him was Isaac Bonga (five minutes), who only entered the contest in garbage time.

Of course, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is no fool. He wasn’t simply giving Banton the cold shoulder.

“He wasn’t feeling well,” Nurse told reporters postgame, “so we just held him out.”

Banton’s miniature Flu Game (which was not a COVID-19-related illness) not only made his performance that much more impressive, but it ultimately paved the way for a dominant showing in a limited stretch by Malachi Flynn, who inherited his teammate’s spot in the rotation for the second half of the game.

As the Kings made a fluttering final effort to push their way back into the contest, Flynn doused the sputtering fire with a barrage of layups and 3-pointers, dropping 14 points in 14 minutes of action on 75 percent shooting.

Unfortunately, the Raptors will be sans Banton on Tuesday evening as they stroll into New York to face the Eastern Conference-leading Brooklyn Nets, according to Nurse, so there will be no chance for a repeat performance. Even so, his commitment to consistently staying on the floor has been admirable this season and has been needed due to Toronto’s grievous injury luck.

Evidently, the Raptors will be hoping Banton recovers quickly and is back on the floor soon.