TORONTO – Jamison Battle knows exactly who he’s.
He’s not the all-star, not a starter. He’s the guy who comes off the bench and exploits drained defenders.
Battle scored all 14 of his points within the fourth quarter of the Toronto Raptors’ 126-104 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. He made all five of his field-goal attempts, with 4 of them coming from beyond the three-point arc.
That offensive explosion helped the Raptors outscore Cleveland 43-23 within the quarter.
“The largest thing is just being ready, staying ready, and that’s what I’ve been doing all season,” Battle told reporters after the sport. “I understand that’s what it’s going to take for me to stay on this league.
“I feel that’s the most important thing is just staying ready, putting in all of the work, watching all of the film and just trusting in my ability and trusting in my teammates to place me in the fitting positions. I feel that’s what happened tonight.”
Related Videos
It’s not the primary time this season that Battle has gone off against the Cavaliers. He had 20 points in Toronto’s 112-101 win in Cleveland on Oct. 31, making all six of his three-point attempts.
Get each day National news
Get each day Canada news delivered to your inbox so you will never miss the day’s top stories.
“We all know what he brings to our team, from shooting, stretching the ground, playing without the ball, cutting, moving, he brings lots of intangibles to our team,” said head coach Darko Rajakovic. “This shouldn’t be first time that he’s played (limited minutes) after which coming in and changing the sport.
“He did an impressive job tonight.”
Battle said on Thursday that the Raptors “great atmosphere” is a spot where he can thrive.
“I tell people on a regular basis that we type of have a college-type locker room where guys are hanging out with one another and we get along so well,” said Battle. “The people we have now on this locker room — from players to coaches to sports staff — all of us get along and we’re all one big family.
“I feel that shows once we play on the court and with how we represent the organization.”
At OVO Athletic Centre, the Raptors practice facility, every shot is tracked. Its speed, trajectory, where it hit the rim, who shot it.
“You’ll see (Battle’s) the No. 1 in getting shots up each day,” said all-star Scottie Barnes. “He’s within the lab, getting a bunch of shots up. He’s going to remain prepared, stay ready.”
Cleveland leads the best-of-seven first-round playoff series 2-1. Game 4 is at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Sunday afternoon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press