Barnes leads Raptors past Blazers 121-118

TORONTO – Scottie Barnes scored 28 points — including 13 in the second quarter — as the Toronto Raptors held off the Portland Trail Blazers 121-118 on Tuesday.

Barnes, who was named the NBA Eastern Conference’s defensive player of the month before the game, also had seven rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks.

Immanuel Quickley added 23 points with eight assists as Toronto (15-7) ended a modest two-game losing skid.

Reserve forward Gradey Dick had 14 points for the Raptors.

Deni Avdija had a double-double with 25 points and 14 assists as Portland (8-13) dropped its third straight. He also pulled down eight boards.

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Toumani Camara added 21 points and seven rebounds while Shaedon Sharpe of London, Ont., came off the bench with 23 points.

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RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., remained out for the Raptors with a sprained right knee. The swingman has been out since landing awkwardly after a dunk in Toronto’s 119-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 23.

“RJ is improving,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic pre-game. “He’s still not taking any participation in team activities. He’s recovering and improving.”

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Takeaways

Blazers: A well-rounded attack saw five of Portland’s players reaching double digits in points, but the visitors were still overwhelmed for long stretches of the game. The Blazers especially struggled in the paint, getting outscored 64-50 by Toronto’s bigs.

Raptors: Toronto’s NBA-best fast-break attack was once again dominant, earning 25 points to Portland’s 10. The Raptors entered the game averaging 20.2 fast-break points per game, 0.7 ahead of the Miami Heat. The Trail Blazers tied with the Houston Rockets for 15th in the league with 14.8 per game before Tuesday’s tipoff.

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Key moment

Quickley drilled a three within the first minute of the second quarter that tied the game 40-40. That sparked a dominant 16-3 Raptors run that gave them a 10-point lead.

Key stat

Quickley was 5-for-6 (83.3 per cent) from three-point range, making nearly half of Toronto’s shots from beyond the arc. He hasn’t attempted fewer than six three-pointers in any of his last 14 games.

Up next

Portland: Travels to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers (13-9) on Wednesday.

Toronto: Hosts the Los Angeles Lakers (15-5) on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2025.