There’s an old saying in sports: they don’t ask how, they ask how many. After Monday night, the Toronto Raptors will be more than happy to live by it.
For three quarters, Toronto looked like a team ready to limp out of Los Angeles with another loss. Coming off a defeat to the Lakers the night before, the Raptors were sluggish and careless, and they couldn’t find their shooting touch. Meanwhile, a Clippers team that entered the night with just one win was making the most of Toronto’s mistakes.
The Raptors had every chance to take control against a depleted Los Angeles lineup, but instead spent nearly 48 minutes chasing the game. It took a fourth-quarter surge, a timely performance from Collin Murray-Boyles and a late push from Scottie Barnes to turn things around. It wasn’t always pretty, but the Raptors found a way to get the job done. And sometimes, that’s all that matters.
Of course, entering this game, there was a massive storyline attached to it. When the 2026-27 schedule was released, Toronto’s first trip to Los Angeles to face the Clippers was an easy game to circle. Kawhi Leonard’s return to Toronto this season had brought back memories of the franchise’s 2019 championship run, but his departure from Los Angeles came with plenty of baggage.
In September, an NBA investigation concluded that the Clippers had circumvented salary-cap rules in connection with Leonard. The league ordered Los Angeles to forfeit five first-round draft picks, issued a $30-million fine and suspended several key personnel, including owner Steve Ballmer.
It was the kind of controversy that could have made Leonard’s first game back in Los Angeles against his former team particularly uncomfortable. Instead, he wasn’t even in the building. Leonard was sidelined after experiencing swelling in his left knee and was receiving treatment away from the team.
Without Leonard, and with Jakob Poeltl missing his second consecutive game, the Raptors had to focus on the task in front of them. They entered the night looking to end a two-game losing streak, while the Clippers were dealing with a lengthy injury list of their own.
Toronto also came in with a potential advantage: the Raptors had been forcing turnovers at a high rate (entered the game with the most forced turnovers by any team), while the Clippers had struggled to protect the basketball (entered the game with the most committed turnovers by any team). That advantage didn’t mean much in the opening minutes.
For what seems to be the new theme, RJ Barrett looked like the one Raptor determined to keep the offence moving in the first quarter when everyone else struggled to get going. Toronto’s perimeter shooting was rough from the opening tip. The Raptors connected on just one of their first 10 attempts from three-point range, allowing the Clippers to pack the paint and make life difficult for everyone else.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, had no trouble finding its range. Kobe Sanders came out firing, knocking down three triples in the opening quarter and finishing the frame with 11 points and two rebounds. Sanders finished with a season-high 26 points.
Barrett was doing what he does best: getting downhill and putting pressure on the defence. He scored on a layup, followed it with a putback and then converted another offensive rebound into a floater through contact for an and-one. His six points, two rebounds and one assist were a bright spot in an otherwise sluggish opening frame.
Scottie Barnes, who had been on a scoring tear coming into the game, had a much quieter start. The Raptors needed their leading all-around player to help create some offence, but he struggled to find his touch.
Barrett continued to carry the scoring burden in the second quarter, adding 10 points, including two three-pointers. Whenever Toronto looked like it might build some momentum, he found a way to keep the offence ticking. However, the Raptors couldn’t get enough help from the rest of the lineup.
Former Raptor Gradey Dick had his best stretch of the night in the second quarter, playing all 12 minutes and recording six points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals. He finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Although it sucked that he was doing this to Toronto, it was nice to see him get minutes for the Clips.
The bigger issue of the quarter was Toronto’s defence. The Raptors struggled to stay disciplined without fouling, sending the Clippers to the free-throw line repeatedly. Los Angeles converted 10 of its 12 attempts in the quarter.
The problems around the basket weren’t helping, either. Isaiah Jackson was finding room to operate with little resistance, going three-for-three in the quarter and repeatedly getting to his spots. With Poeltl unavailable, Toronto was having trouble matching his activity around the rim. Jackson would finish with 19 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
The Raptors entered the second half with plenty of work to do, but their struggles continued. Barnes still couldn’t get his offence going; in fact, he looked like he was labouring a hip injury, and Toronto’s three-point shooting remained a problem. The deficit eventually reached 16 points, leaving Toronto in danger of suffering another frustrating loss on the second night of a back-to-back.
Fourth quarter: CMB and Barnes bring Toronto back
Murray-Boyles deserves plenty of credit for the way he played in the fourth quarter. His corner three was one of the biggest shots of the night, especially considering how badly Toronto had been shooting from deep. Coming into the game, he had made just three of his nine attempts from beyond the arc, so seeing one go down at such an important moment was a welcome sight.
Then he went to work on the other end. Murray-Boyles battled Brook Lopez for a defensive rebound and drew the veteran centre’s sixth foul, sending him to the bench. With Toronto already struggling to contain Isaiah Jackson around the basket, getting Lopez out of the game was a big moment.
CMB finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, including eight points, two rebounds and a block in the fourth quarter. He was physical, active and willing to do the dirty work, and the Raptors badly needed that kind of effort.
Honestly, the way he competed around the basket made you wonder whether he could eventually become a legitimate option at centre. Toronto still has questions to answer at that position, but Murray-Boyles gave fans another reason to be excited about what he might become. His energy seemed to wake everyone else up, too.
Barnes threw down a dunk coming out of a timeout, and a couple of possessions later, Ja’Kobe Walter found him for an alley-oop. Suddenly, the Raptors were playing with some life, and then Barnes started doing what he does best on the defensive end.
After spending most of the night struggling to score, Barnes turned up the pressure. He was hounding ball-handlers, disrupting possessions and making life miserable for the Clippers. This was a completely different response from his scoreless outing against Minnesota earlier in the season, when his struggles seemed to affect the rest of his game. This time, even though his shot wasn’t falling, he kept competing.
The Raptors fed off that energy. They forced six turnovers in the fourth quarter and held the Clippers to just 30 percent shooting from the field. Suddenly, the team that had looked completely out of sorts for three quarters was forcing mistakes and making a comeback feel possible.
Barrett helped bring it home, too. His twisting, step-through layup tied the game at 109, capping another strong night for the Toronto native, who finished with 26 points and six rebounds. With 2:08 remaining, Barnes rose and knocked down a contested fadeaway from around 10 feet to give Toronto its first lead of the night, 111-109.
Scottie finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Fifteen of those points came in the fourth quarter, along with eight rebounds, four of them on the offensive glass.
Immanuel Quickley also came up big, finishing with 14 of his 27 points in the quarter. He was one of the few Raptors that could actually knock down his freebies. He went 7-7 from the line in the final frame, 10-11 overall.
Of course, because this is the Raptors, they couldn’t just make the finish easy. Toronto had been frustrated after attempting only 15 free throws against the Orlando Magic. Against the Clippers, they got to the line 48 times compared with Los Angeles’ 27, yet the Raptors made just 31 of those 48 attempts.
That’s 17 points left on the table. Even with Quickley going 10-for-11, Toronto shot just 64.6 percent from the stripe. The team missed seven free throws down the stretch, giving the Clippers opportunities to hang around when the Raptors should have been putting the game away. Toronto also needed two successful coach’s challenges to finally close the door.
It’s hard to complain too much after a win like this, but those numbers are ugly. You can’t keep digging yourself into double-digit holes and expect to climb out every night. And when you’re getting 48 free throws, you have to do a better job converting them.
For the Raptors, this wasn’t exactly the kind of win you frame and hang on the wall. The slow start was concerning, the shooting was rough, and the free-throw issues nearly cost them. However, after two straight losses and a rough night against the Lakers, Toronto needed a win. Thankfully, they found a way to get one. Like they say…they don’t ask how, they ask how many.
