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 highest three seeds within the East, also including the Boston Celtics and Latest York Knicks.
The Raptors are also now 4-13 against the ten best teams within the league overall.
“I believe they only outworked and outclassed us just a little bit today,” Poeltl said. “They played really physical, they rotated really aggressively on defence and at times we played rather 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 primary team within 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 back. He scored the Raptors’ first basket of the sport 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 attain 11 of Detroit’s first 14 points. Reed finished with 22 points and five rebounds.
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Poeltl was way more energetic within the second half, picking up 4 points and three rebounds in the primary two minutes. He finished with nine points and 6 rebounds, playing in roughly five-minute shifts in the beginning of every quarter.
The Austrian said his return “felt pretty good.”
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“Obviously not perfect. Still trying to search out just a little little bit of a rhythm, attempting to get my lungs back, trying to search out myself again without offence and stuff like that, but overall the back felt good, so I’m completely satisfied about that,” Poeltl said.
The 30-year-old was averaging 9.7 points and seven.7 rebounds per game in 21 contests before Wednesday’s motion, missing time on and off due to his back.
His return showed there should be an extended approach to go before he’s firing on all cylinders once more.
“It was encouraging that he was finally capable of come back and play 20 minutes like we planned for him. And it was good to see that he didn’t have restrictions on the court,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said.
“I all the time say there’s a return to play, and there’s return to performance. So it was really good to see him on the court now before the all-star (break) and he can proceed to construct on this.”
Reed, a profession reserve, was only starting because fellow big men Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren began serving seven- and two-game suspensions, respectively, within the wake of Monday night’s melee with the Charlotte Hornets.
Still, the Pistons snagged 17 offensive rebounds.
“Once they’re missing Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, that’s something we should always not be coping with. We should always do a a lot better job with that,” Rajakovic said.
Toronto now has eight days off, though a big contingent might be headed to Los Angeles for all-star weekend.
Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram will play in the sport, Rajakovic and his coaching staff will lead Team World, and rookies Collin Murray-Boyles and Alijah Martin together with Canadian A.J. Lawson will compete within the rising stars game.
It can be for some deserved recognition for a Raptors team that has exceeded expectations through 55 games. But Toronto might want to take a step against the conference’s elite in the event that they need to make noise after the break.
“I believe overall we could be completely satisfied with our progress, but we’re also aware that there’s way more room for growth individually and as a team,” Poeltl said. “We’ve got such an extended approach to go still and teams like tonight kinda show that for us that we’re still not where we would like to be.”
For now, Rajakovic is pleased — but sees more growth ahead.
“Hopefully after the all-star break we could have everybody healthy, so we’re gonna give you the option to make a next step for us,” he said. “I consider that our greatest basketball is ahead of us and never behind us.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press