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The Brooklyn Nets may have had the top three scorers in the game, but the Toronto Raptors’ depth won out on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena.
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Scottie Barnes led a balanced attack with 17 points as the Raptors — playing without veteran centre Jakob Poeltl — pulled away late in the fourth quarter for a 119-109 victory, extending their win streak to seven games.
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After Michael Porter Jr., tied the game 104-104, Toronto went on a 10-0 run thanks to back-to-back three-pointers by point guard Immanuel Quickley.
RJ Barrett of Mississauga had 16 points in 20 minutes of play for Toronto (12-5) before getting hurt in the third quarter. Barrett subbed out with 7:13 left in the period after awkwardly landing from a dunk, spraining his right knee. He was leading Toronto’s scorers at the time.
Ja’Kobe Walter matched Barrett’s 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.
Brandon Ingram had 14 points for Toronto, Quickley 13, Gradey Dick and Sandro Mamukelashvili 12 apiece and Jamal Shead 11 as the Raptors had eight players hit double figures in scoring.
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Ingram surpassed 10,000 points in his career. He’s the fifth player from the 2016 draft class to reach the milestone.
Backup forward Tyrese Martin led all scorers with 26 points to keep Brooklyn (3-14) in the game. Porter had 25 points, Noah Clowney added 22 and Nic Claxton had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Martin almost single-handedly made the game close in the fourth quarter. He had 10 points in the period, knocking down two three-pointers early in the period to keep Brooklyn either tied or within a possession.
Poeltl was unavailable to rest his lower back. Head coach Darko Rajakovic said before the game that Poeltl won’t play both ends of back-to-backs for now.
What may have been a trap game saw Toronto play down to its competition, especially in the third quarter. The Raptors were especially dominated in the paint with Poeltl unavailable, getting out-rebounded 40-32.
Rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles was back in Toronto’s lineup after missing the previous two games with a medial collateral ligament sprain in his right knee, He finished with two points in 17 minutes off the bench.
Toronto will host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
— with files from Toronto Sun staff
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