The Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic put on an heavyweight title boxing-like performance in their NBA Cup matchup, just as the broadcast suggested last night. It was a far cry from Toronto’s dominant 129-99 win over Orlando earlier this week. This time, the Magic came ready for a fight.
Desmond Bane made sure he wouldn’t have another cold shooting night, dropping 28 points and going 6-for-12 from deep. Franz Wagner added 26 points and 11 assists, Anthony Black had 17 points and 10 assists, and Wendell Carter Jr. chipped in 20 points.
But you know who else came to play? No. 4, Scottie Barnes.
He set a new career high with 41 points on 19-for-34 shooting, along with five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Scottie B’s aggression was at an all-time high … and the kicker? He did it with just three free-throw attempts. Ethical hoops, as the kids might call it. Still, the low number was frustrating enough to get Darko Rajaković a little riled up at the post-game presser, and I can second that a bit.
We know Barnes has this in his bag, so to speak. We saw it in the 2026 playoffs, when he raised his level and attacked the basket as Toronto faced adversity against Cleveland. Here’s the issue, though: I wasn’t exactly impressed with the rest of the Raptors amid Barnes’ breakout night.
Barnes’ career night couldn’t lift the Raptors past the red-hot Magic
RJ Barrett, the co-star expected to step up during Kawhi Leonard’s extended absence, couldn’t get his offense going, finishing with nine points on poor efficiency. Sure, it was helpful to see Immanuel Quickley with 17 points, Collin Murray-Boyles added 15, and a surprising Jakob Poeltl night with 12 points and 11 rebounds. But those stats don’t tell the whole story … the eye test shows more.
What really hurt Toronto was its inability to match Orlando’s three-point barrage. The Magic shot an absurd 52.9% from deep (18-for-34), while the Raptors had a decent night by their standards at 40.7% (11-for-27). But here’s where I take issue: much of Toronto’s perimeter production came from Quickley and Ja’Kobe Walter, who shot with the most volume and efficiency. Orlando, meanwhile, got big threes from Bane, Black, and reserves Tristan da Silva and Jamal Cain — the latter of which I thought was the X-factor in this Magic win.
When Jamal Shead, who I’ve already called an important piece during Leonard’s absence, goes zero from the field, and Jamison Battle, key to Toronto’s shooting response, misses both of his attempts — those little things hurt. I also would’ve liked to see more Allen Graves. As my colleague Chris Lambert recently wrote, Graves brought the energy and effort that could’ve helped keep the Raptors in it.
When you’re trading twos for threes, you’re more likely to lose ... or just barely squeak by. The Raptors trailed for much of the game because of it, and even after taking a late lead, they couldn’t hold on as Orlando started hitting massive shots again (a 13–4 closing run).
Toronto's trust in their defense and their aggressive approach to scoring inside and in transition are great, don’t get me wrong. But that approach can be stifled when the other team catches fire from deep and disrupts Toronto’s gameplan — I mean, just look at that Minnesota game from last Sunday.
Scottie Barnes had a career night, and it still wasn’t enough. He’ll remain a key focus during Toronto’s Kawhi-less stretch, but he can’t be the golden goose of this schedule and do it alone. The rest of the squad needs to step up — more from RJ, even more from IQ and Walter, and a lot more from the bench. That’s not being harsh; it’s the honest truth if Toronto wants to stay in the mix as tougher opponents arrive in November.
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