The Toronto Raptors will try to win their third straight game on their Western Conference road trip as they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
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Led by Scottie Barnes’ third-quarter explosion, the Raptors were able to mount a comeback to beat the Sacramento Kings 122-109 on Wednesday night. Barnes scored 14 in the third and finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals in the win.
The Raptors outscored the Kings 43-21 in the third frame to pull away for their first win in Sacramento since 2023. Brandon Ingram added 23 points while Sandro Mamukelashvili poured in 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his ninth start of the season.
“We’re making good decisions,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said after the win. “For a stretch of games, we were just more comfortable understanding that when our good shooters are taking shots, we’ve got to live with the outcome.”
Mamukelashvili could remain in the starting lineup on Friday, as RJ Barrett and Collin Murray-Boyles are questionable for the matchup, according to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg. Barrett has missed the team’s past seven games with an ankle injury, while Murray-Boyles has been out two games with a thumb contusion.
“Sandro is helping us in so many ways,” Rajakovic said. “His rebounding is improving, and we’re using him more in pick-and-rolls to roll rather than pop. He’s providing a completely different dimension -- spacing, scoring, and defensively, he’s smart and knows how to guard different personnel.”
Centre Jakob Poeltl and guard Ja’Kobe Walter remain out.
Toronto took the lone matchup between the two teams earlier this season, winning a 121-118 decision at Scotiabank Arena on Dec. 2. Barnes scored 28 to go with seven rebounds and seven assists, while Trail Blazers’ star Deni Avdija approached a triple-double with 25 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds.
The Raptors sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 27-19 record, seven games behind the conference-leading Detroit Pistons. The club will finish up its Western road trip Sunday against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder before returning to Scotiabank Arena for a game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Portland (23-22) comes into Friday’s matchup on a four-game winning streak and is averaging 123.3 points over that span. They have gone 8-2 over their past 10 games to climb into ninth in the Western Conference.
“We’re playing together,” Canadian guard Shaedon Sharpe said of Portland’s recent winning streak. “We have each other’s back, and we’re having fun in the process. We have a lot more games left and let’s keep rolling.”
Avdija exited the team’s 127-110 win over the Miami Heat on Thursday with a back issue but is not expected to miss Friday’s contest. He is averaging 26 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.9 assists this season.