Last night’s Raptors–Lakers game took a bizarre turn in the final few minutes, and it had me completely glued to the screen.
With about four minutes to go, head coach Darko Rajaković appeared to wave the white flag and pulled his starters, leaving a mix of reserves and third-stringers to close out the game. It looked over — but, to everyone’s surprise, Toronto’s final unit went on a scorching run and made things uncomfortably close. Lakers coach JJ Redick even had to bring his big guns back in, including Luka Dončić, to put a stop to it before the Raptors made things even more interesting.
The Lakers ultimately came out on top with a final score of 131–125, but Toronto's underrated cast not backing down from a fight deserves all the praise. And who from that unit largely sparked Toronto’s near-comeback? Its resident sniper, Jamison Battle.
With Jakob Poeltl out and Kawhi Leonard still sidelined, Battle remained a key player off the bench, logging nearly 17 minutes altogether. But his early showing didn’t exactly catch my eye. In the first half, Toronto kicked the ball out to him a few times to try and match the Lakers’ shooting, but he went just 1-for-3 from beyond the arc — not exactly a needle-mover.
The second half, and especially the fourth quarter, was a whole different story. Battle’s sudden scoring burst came out of nowhere like a trademark Randy Orton RKO. He scored 15 points in the final two minutes, becoming Toronto’s hot hand and nearly its wildest saving grace in quite some time.
He turned up the dial, showed remarkable poise, and kept fighting even when it seemed Toronto was already out of the game. He hit the kind of big shots the Raptors could have used much earlier — but you still have to tip your cap to JB for sparking that spirited comeback.
That’s where I see Battle’s value when he’s at his best. It’s no secret that the Raptors are significantly behind when it comes to half-court offense. Last night, it was demoralizing to watch Toronto struggle to create when its inside attack was stifled or couldn’t produce good looks.
Toronto needs Battle’s scoring punch to become the norm
Immanuel Quickley had another lackluster shooting night, and Ja’Kobe Walter struggled to find his shot. I can appreciate Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett trying to bring some shooting spark and inject life into the offense, but I also don’t trust those beyond-the-arc shots to fall at a high clip.
Battle, though, has all the makings to become a secret weapon for this team. We’ve seen flashes of his edge in big moments, including last season and in the playoffs. But on a nightly basis, it can feel like more of his shots clank when the game matters than go in. Against the Lakers, he showed he can spearhead a game-changing run — even if it came against their C-squad.
The aggression and confidence were there. Now Toronto needs Battle to sustain that level throughout his minutes. It’s a similar point to the one I made about Jamal Shead: the Raptors’ lifeline is their starters, especially Scottie Barnes, but when that group falls short, the next men up have to help carry the load. Battle is firmly among them.
I loved what he did late in the game. Now it’s about delivering that kind of impact more consistently. If he can, he could be an unsung hero to keep the Raptors within reach … and that’s absolutely essential during this Kawhi-less stretch.
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