The Toronto Raptors needed a response after the Minnesota Timberwolves ran them off the floor in their previous game. Scottie Barnes needed one, too, especially after finishing that game without a single point. On Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic, both got what they were looking for.
Toronto shook off a sluggish start, caught fire from three-point range and watched Barnes take over after halftime. Jamal Shead turned in a vintage performance, RJ Barrett helped get the offence going early, and the Raptors finally looked like a team capable of making life difficult for its opponent on both ends of the floor.
It wasn’t always pretty, and Jakob Poeltl certainly didn’t do himself any favours. But after the Minnesota debacle, Toronto will happily take this one. The Raptors came out flat as a pancake in the first quarter, falling behind by nine and struggling to find any rhythm. Orlando was without Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs, giving Toronto a golden opportunity to bounce back. You wouldn’t have known it from the opening minutes.
Thankfully, once again Barrett helped keep the Raptors in the game by knocking down his shots from beyond the arc and giving the offence some much-needed breathing room. Toronto hasn’t exactly been a reliable shooting team from deep, so seeing Barrett find his range early was encouraging. He finished the night with 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists, knocking down three triples after entering the game with just one three-pointer on the season.
While Barrett continued to flourish again in the early part of ball games this season, the real spark came from Jakobe Walter. He got everyone going when he jumped a passing lane, grabbed a steal and took it the other way for a dunk, giving Toronto the jolt of energy it desperately needed. The Raptors finally started playing with some pace and closed the quarter on a 22-10 run to turn an early nine-point deficit into a seven-point lead.
Walter continued to make his presence felt throughout the night, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and three three-pointers. He certainly has proven he is a capable starter and can provide valuable minutes with Kawhi Leonard set to miss time.
Jamal Shead also made sure he wasn’t going to have another quiet night running the offence. He finished the Minnesota game without an assist, but against Orlando, he was back to doing what he does best: driving, drawing and dishing.
Shead found Trayce Jackson-Davis down low for a floater. He also had a beautiful bounce pass to Barrett, who made a great cut on the baseline for the reverse lay.
While he got his passing touch back, Shead also showed some life with his shooting game. With the shot clock winding down, he stepped back and knocked down a tough midrange jumper over the outstretched arm of Jase Richardson. He even buried his first three-pointer of the season. Shead finished the night with 13 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Poeltl, meanwhile, was having a night he’d probably rather forget…what else is new? Poeltl has been unplayable this season. After doing straight cardio last game for 19 minutes, instead of bouncing back, he continued to look like he didn’t belong. He picked up three fouls in the first half, struggled to keep Wendell Carter Jr. off the offensive glass and played just five minutes before halftime.
While Poeltl continued to struggle immensely, the same could not be said about Scottie Barnes, especially in the second half. In fact, the third quarter belonged to Barnes. After putting up a goose egg against Minnesota, he came out of halftime looking determined to make up for it.
He started the third off by grabbing a defensive rebound and taking the ball coast to coast, attacking Anthony Black before using his size to knock down the and-one. On the next possession, he got the ball near midcourt, blew past Franz Wagner and finished with a tricky hook shot.
Suddenly, it was clear the Raptors had the version of Barnes they were accustomed to seeing. He kept attacking the rim relentlessly. Later in the quarter, he drew some more contact for another and-one and followed it up with a baseline pull-up.
When Orlando sent a second defender his way, Barnes made the right read all night. He was even able to find Poeltl for a much-needed basket. It was Poeltl’s first field goal in 10 quarters. Unfortunately, it was the only field goal he made all game. Barnes scored 16 points in the third quarter alone, making all seven of his shots. At the end of the evening, he finished with 28 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks while shooting 64.7 percent from the field.
In the final frame, both teams were trading baskets, but the Raptors did enough to keep the Magic from putting together a serious run. Their defence came up with some important stops, forcing turnovers and making life difficult for Orlando’s main options.
Wagner finished with just four makes on 11 attempts and turned the ball over seven times, while Desmond Bane managed only 13 points on 3-for-14 shooting. Tristan da Silva was the exception, scoring 20 points and knocking down four threes, but Orlando couldn’t get enough from the rest of its lineup to stay competitive in this one.
Trayce Jackson-Davis also deserves a massive shoutout. He gave Toronto valuable minutes while Poeltl struggled with foul trouble and Collin Murray-Boyles had a difficult start. CMB played just two minutes in the opening frame but somehow tallied three turnovers and two personal fouls. TJD battled on the glass, protected the rim and finished a drive with a layup before throwing down a monster alley-oop off an Alijah Martin pass.
He finished with a total of six points, a team-high 11 rebounds and two blocks, making the most of his opportunity. He gave Toronto the kind of energy and effort it needed from the centre position, something Raps fans haven’t seen much of this season.
By the end of the game, Toronto had forced 20 turnovers, won the rebounding battle 45-34 and knocked down 15 threes at a 43 percent clip. That last number deserves some attention. The Raptors winning the three-point battle while shooting that well from deep is not exactly an everyday occurrence. When the shots fall, and the defence creates extra possessions, this team looks a whole lot different.
If the Raps can get more nights like this from Barnes and Shead, and a little more than just cardio from Poeltl, they’ll give themselves a much better chance of stringing some wins together, with or without the Klaw.
