TORONTO – The primary half of the Toronto Raptors’ season ended the identical way it began — with a blowout loss at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points to steer the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers to a 131-108 drubbing of the Raptors on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena.
It mirrored the 136-106 win Cleveland kicked off the campaign with back in October.
Toronto (17-38) now sits thirteenth within the Eastern Conference because it heads into all-star weekend on the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center in San Francisco, while Cleveland (44-10) is comfortably first.
Gradey Dick can be the lone Raptors’ representative in California when he participates in Friday’s rrising stars game.
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley were all chosen to the all-star game with head coach Kenny Atkinson.
The remainder of the Raptors will take an eight-day break before returning for the ultimate 27 games of the season.
“I feel it’s gonna be essential, our mentality and our approach,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We gotta proceed developing. We’ve loads of young guys which are getting very helpful minutes.
“We want to know and see the large picture of how those guys must develop and what it’s gonna mean for us in the long run.”
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Earlier Wednesday, Toronto announced it had signed a multi-year extension with newcomer Brandon Ingram. The deal is reportedly for 3 years and value US$120 million.
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The Raptors acquired the one-time all-star forward from the Recent Orleans Pelicans eventually Thursday’s trade deadline in exchange for Kelly Olynyk, Bruce Brown, and first- and second-round picks.
The 27-year-old Ingram is nursing a sprained left ankle and said he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to make his Raptors debut.
When he does, the primary order of business can be establishing chemistry with the Raptors’ core players.
“I would like to simply get on the market and play basketball,” Ingram said in a pre-game press conference Wednesday. “It’s been some time since I’ve been back on the ground. And I feel the adrenalin, I’m gonna be excited to play. I feel I’ll have the option to simply slot in anywhere.
“In fact I prefer to have the basketball in my hands, but additionally, I prefer to pass too. Occurring the ground with high-IQ guys, it all the time helps. And I feel our team has loads of high-IQ guys.”
Canada’s RJ Barrett, who led the Raptors with 27 points against the Cavs, smiled when asked in regards to the addition of Ingram.
“It’s big time, you get a player like that coming here. It’s huge for us, huge for the organization,” said Barrett, who returned after missing 4 games as a result of concussion protocols.
“We’re completely satisfied to have him here and once he’s in a position to play and we get to see what it’s like with all of us on the market, I’m sure it’ll be a fun time.”
The ultimate stretch of the season will likely see increased playing time for Toronto’s five rookies — Ja’Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead, Ulrich Chomche and Jamison Battle.
Battle, who recently signed his own three-year contract with the team, led the freshmen with 11 points against the Cavaliers.
Chomche battled against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in Toronto’s 106-103 victory on Tuesday. He then turned around and played for Raptors 905 of the NBA’s G League on Wednesday morning in Mississauga, Ont.
“He’s learning what it takes to be skilled and the right way to approach on daily basis with the identical desire and mentality,” Rajakovic said.
With the sport against the Cavaliers well out of hand and the shot clock turned off within the dying seconds, Canadian Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson scored a garbage-time layup that caught the ire of the Raptors.
After the ultimate buzzer, Shead met Thompson at midcourt while fans loudly booed.
“I feel what Tristan did there was no class and disrespectful. I’m not gonna stand for that needless to say and I’m really glad that our guys, our players, from Jamal — who was on the court and Scottie and everybody else — that they stood up for themselves,” Rajakovic said.
“I really like when my team stands up for themselves.”
It’s that sort of spirit the coach hopes will set in day by day over the remaining of the 12 months — and into next season, too.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
