TORONTO –  Jakob Poeltl’s return didn’t exactly go to plan.

The Austrian big man played his first game Wednesday after missing 24 with nagging back pain against the Detroit Pistons, but his Toronto Raptors struggled in a 113-95 loss against the Eastern Conference leaders.

Toronto’s loss marked its seventh in as many attempts against the top three seeds in the East, also including the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks.

The Raptors are also now 4-13 against the 10 best teams in the league overall.

“I think they just outworked and outclassed us a little bit today,” Poeltl said. “They played really physical, they rotated really aggressively on defence and at times we played really well against it, but we just couldn’t knock down open shots. At times, it looked pretty bad and we turned the ball over or we got stuck.”

Detroit, which has just 13 losses on the season, became the first team in the conference to hit the 40-win mark. The Raptors remained fifth, dropping to 32-23.

Poeltl’s first shift partly portended the night to come. He scored the Raptors’ first basket of the game on a pick-and-roll with RJ Barrett, but missed a lefty layup attempt soon after.

On the defensive end, he matched up with regular backup Paul Reed and allowed him to score 11 of Detroit’s first 14 points. Reed finished with 22 points and five rebounds.

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Poeltl was much more active in the second half, picking up four points and three rebounds in the first two minutes. He finished with nine points and six rebounds, playing in roughly five-minute shifts at the beginning of each quarter.

The Austrian said his return “felt pretty good.”

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“Obviously not perfect. Still trying to find a little bit of a rhythm, trying to get my lungs back, trying to find myself again without offence and stuff like that, but overall the back felt good, so I’m happy about that,” Poeltl said.

The 30-year-old was averaging 9.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in 21 contests before Wednesday’s action, missing time on and off because of his back.

His return showed there may still be a long way to go before he is firing on all cylinders once again.

“It was encouraging that he was finally able to come back and play 20 minutes like we planned for him. And it was good to see that he did not have restrictions on the court,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said.

“I always say there is a return to play, and there is return to performance. So it was really good to see him on the court now before the all-star (break) and he can continue to build on this.”

Reed, a career reserve, was only starting because fellow big men Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren began serving seven- and two-game suspensions, respectively, in the wake of Monday night’s melee with the Charlotte Hornets.

Still, the Pistons snagged 17 offensive rebounds.

“When they’re missing Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, that’s something we should not be dealing with. We should do a much better job with that,” Rajakovic said.

Toronto now has eight days off, though a large contingent will be headed to Los Angeles for all-star weekend.

Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram will play in the game, Rajakovic and his coaching staff will lead Team World, and rookies Collin Murray-Boyles and Alijah Martin along with Canadian A.J. Lawson will compete in the rising stars game.

It will be for some deserved recognition for a Raptors team that has exceeded expectations through 55 games. But Toronto will need to take a step against the conference’s elite if they want to make noise after the break.

“I think overall we can be happy with our progress, but we’re also aware that there’s much more room for growth individually and as a team,” Poeltl said. “We have such a long way to go still and teams like tonight kinda show that for us that we’re still not where we want to be.”

For now, Rajakovic is pleased — but sees more growth ahead.

“Hopefully after the all-star break we will have everybody healthy, so we’re gonna be able to make a next step for us,” he said. “I believe that our best basketball is ahead of us and not behind us.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.

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TORONTO – Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic believes that the future belongs to Scottie Barnes.

Rajakovic was effusive in his praise for Barnes after the Raptors all-star scored 25 points and had 14 rebounds in Toronto’s 122-104 rout of the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon. Barnes also surpassed former Raptors all-star Pascal Siakam — now on the Pacers — for the fifth most double-doubles in Toronto history with 103.

“Scottie is defensive player of the year. He’s an all-star. He’s going to be a Finals MVP. He’s going to be an MVP one day,” said Rajakovic.”Write down the date I said that.”

Barnes could only chuckle at Rajakovic’s prediction.

“That’s my coach, man. He’s always supporting us. He’s always got our backs,” said Barnes. “That’s Darko for you.”

Barnes helped Toronto blow the game wide open in the third quarter, scoring 13 of his points and grabbing eight rebounds in the period. He also had four assists, two blocks and a steal in the third.

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The Raptors dominated the period, making 60.7 per cent of their field-goal attempts and all six of their free throws, outscoring Indiana 44-26 in the quarter.

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Barnes said he tried to step up after rookie centre Collin Murray-Boyles left the game in the first quarter. Murray-Boyles aggravated a sprain in his left thumb when another player hit his hand.

“I just do what the game demands of me,” said Barnes. “Obviously, Collin wasn’t there so I needed to rebound more, we needed some rim protection.

“Going where the game demands. I was feeling a little bit like I was going downhill, attacking.”

Trayce Jackson-Davis made his Raptors debut after being traded to Toronto by the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. He had 10 points and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes of play.

Jackson-Davis said it has been an easy adjustment for him so far.

“You could see during the game, they’re hyping me up every time I made a play, giving me a lot of confidence, and so I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to be a part of the team,” said the 25-year-old centre. “One of the assistant coaches came up to me and said ‘at the end of the day, it’s just basketball, just go out there and play.’

“So that’s what I did.”

Although it was a solid debut, Rajakovic wanted to wait before commenting on Jackson-Davis’s performance.

“I don’t want to pass judgment. (…) I just want to let him be. I want to coach him. I want to help him. I want to to build him and see where we go,” said Rajakovic. “I don’t want to, based on one good game or bad game, to pass any judgment on him.

“I want to see a chunk of 10 to 15 games and see how he grows with us.”

The Raptors (32-22) are fifth in the Eastern Conference and will host the Detroit Pistons (38-13) on Wednesday. It’s the last game for both teams before the NBA’s all-star weekend.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2026.

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TORONTO – Brandon Ingram had plenty to reflect on before he trotted onto the court at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

His strong 33-point performance in the Toronto Raptors’ 123-107 victory against the Chicago Bulls just happened to come on the one-year anniversary of his trade to Canada from the New Orleans Pelicans.

“Yeah, my brother mentioned the anniversary when I was talking to him,” the 28-year-old Ingram said. “But I also thought about my great aunt. It would have been her birthday (on Friday).”

Leatha Smith had a massive impact on Ingram’s development as a youngster. She raised him for seven years in North Carolina. She passed away in the summer before his freshman season at Duke University.

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But Ingram not only thinks about his great aunt on her birthday, but also at Christmas time. She gifted him his first mobile phone in one of their last holiday seasons together.

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“I think about her a lot,” Ingram said. “She raised me for seven years. I know she’s looking down at me, and she is proud of me.”

Tattooed on the back of his bicep is the quote, “Fear of suffering is far worse than suffering itself.” The words are from Brazilian philosopher Paulo Coelho in his book, The Alchemist. This became a mantra for Ingram because his great aunt repeated the line often.

So much so, Ingram decided to get the tattoo.

The hardest part about Ingram’s move from New Orleans to Toronto was waiting eight months to finally play in a Raptors jersey. He suffered a severely sprained left ankle on Dec. 8, 2024, and that injury forced him out of action for 10 months.

“Absolutely, that made the trade a little more difficult,” Ingram said. “But it also gave me time to sit and watch my new team. I got a feeling for my new teammates and where I was going to fit in.”

The six-foot-nine Ingram has fit in just fine. He’s made a big difference as the Raptors notched their 31st victory with 29 games still remaining. They won only 30 in the entire 2024-25 season.

His big game against the Bulls was the seventh time he scored 30 or more in a game this season.

“This has been a good move for me,” Ingram said with his whisper-like voice. “I needed a fresh start.

“I love this team, this city and my teammates. The coaching staff has been super.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2026.

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TORONTO – For 24 minutes, the Toronto Raptors dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves.

But then turnovers and the explosive play of Anthony Edwards gave Minnesota momentum in the second half and the Raptors fell to the Timberwolves 128-126 on Wednesday. Brandon Ingram, who led Toronto with 25 points, said that he and his teammates have to get back to their fundamentals.

“Every game is different. I think we can learn how to take care of the basketball for sure and what plays we are gonna run in the fourth quarter to be the best effectively,” said Ingram post-game. “Also, just standing our ground on the defensive side of the basketball and getting stops over and over again.

“We’ve done it before.”

Scottie Barnes had a double-double for Toronto (30-22) with 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Barnes tied Pascal Siakam for fifth on the Raptors’ all-time double-doubles list with 102.

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But those weren’t the numbers Toronto was talking about post-game.

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It was the fourth game in a row where the Raptors scored 22 or fewer points in the fourth quarter. Toronto also dropped to 1-12 against teams currently ranked in the top 10 in the NBA.

After giving up only four turnovers in the first half, the Raptors gave up nine after intermission.

“I think that was the main thing there, that out of those turnovers, they were able to get out in transition and then run and score easy on us,” said Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic. “When you’re not getting your shots, you score less and you allow them to score on the other side of the floor as well.

“I thought that was the main thing there.”

Backup centre Sandro Mamukelashvili was reluctant to say that the Raptors were forcing passes in the second half, but he acknowledged they should have been more careful.

“We kind of got a little sloppy with the ball, and that’s the main thing,” said Mamukelashvili, after Toronto led by as many as 18 points. “I think that when you when you have the lead, you control the game.

“We like to play fast, but at the same time, just kind of slowing it down and understanding when we can go and when not (to pass).”

The loss came within 24 hours of the NBA trade deadline.

Media reports had the Raptors making a small transaction earlier Wednesday to get below the luxury tax line.

The three-team deal that saw the Los Angeles Clippers send veteran guard Chris Paul to Toronto and the Raptors move forward Ochai Agbaji, their 2032 second-round draft pick and cash to the Brooklyn Nets.

Several reports said that Paul was not expected to report to Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2026.

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