Barrett, from Mississauga, Ont., had 21 factors, eight rebounds and 4 assists as Toronto failed in its comeback bid towards the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder on Tuesday, dropping 116-107.
Barrett mentioned that the loss to the reigning NBA champions and a 113-95 rout by the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 11 aren’t disappointments however really a sign of how far the Raptors have come since they completed final season with a 30-52 report.
“I imply, we’ve made an enormous soar from the place we had been final yr. You’ve obtained to suppose the place we had been final yr versus now,” mentioned Barrett. “Quite a lot of these groups have both already been good, already been in playoff conditions like tonight, gained a championship. These groups already know.
“They’re already battle examined, and it’s good for us to play these groups proper now.”
Immanuel Quickley had 17 factors and Ja’Kobe Walter got here off the bench for 17 as Toronto (34-24) noticed its modest two-game win streak snapped.
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The loss dropped the Raptors to 4-14 towards the league’s high 10 groups with three of these wins towards the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier than they acquired James Harden in a commerce with the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 4.
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“Undergo these powerful losses proper now through the season in order that we’ll determine it out,” mentioned Barrett about taking part in groups sure for the post-season. “Right this moment, we began good, went down 20, fought all the best way again in order that we’re already studying one thing there.
“We’ve simply obtained to proceed to learn to scratch and claw and beat these good groups, and we’ll.”
Toronto jumped out to an early lead within the first quarter, outscoring the guests 32-25. That was largely due to taking higher care of the ball because the Raptors had simply two turnovers within the first quarter whereas OKC had seven.
That tilted within the different route for the remainder of the sport because the Raptors coughed up the ball 14 extra instances whereas the Thunder solely had 9 extra turnovers within the remaining three quarters.
“Hopefully the movie goes to assist us perceive higher however second, third quarter was not us and it was not our identification,” mentioned head coach Darko Rajakovic. “That was not what we did within the first quarter to start out the sport. We had been dictating and dominating on the offensive finish, creating a whole lot of turnovers, which fuelled our offence and we took our foot off the fuel.”
Raptors all-stars Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes had been held to fifteen factors apiece by the Thunder’s smothering defence.
Worse but, Barnes suffered a right-quad contusion and was listed as questionable for Wednesday night time’s sport towards the visiting San Antonio Spurs.
Barnes had been the spine of Toronto’s defence towards Oklahoma Metropolis, ending with three steals, 4 blocks and a plus-18 defensive score as the remainder of the Raptors had unfavorable rankings.
“I felt that he did a very good job there, defensively, and he was very, very disruptive,” mentioned Rajakovic. “I believe he actually pushed our tempo as effectively.
“When he’s going to the rim, I believe he’s excellent. I believed a few instances that he was attending to the rim, and he was not getting the foul name.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Feb. 25, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
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