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Toronto's Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett pelted New York star with towels after mockery
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Published Jan 29, 2026 • 2 minute read
New York Knicks' Josh Hart puts Toronto on blast as the Raptors' Brandon Ingram throws a towel and RJ Barrett and Jamal Shead look on during second half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
New York Knicks' Josh Hart puts Toronto on blast as the Raptors' Brandon Ingram throws a towel and RJ Barrett and Jamal Shead look on during second half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. Photo by Frank Gunn /THE CANADIAN PRESS
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The night might have started well for Toronto in a game where the Raptors led the visiting New York Knicks by as many as 12 points. But following a 119-92 loss, the team lamented letting one slip away.
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With the loss, Toronto drops to 0-8 against the Knicks since trading OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa to New York for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley in December 2023.
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“We’ve just got to put together 48 minutes. We know that,” Brandon Ingram said postgame, according to the Canadian Press. “Especially against good teams like the New York Knicks, we definitely thought that the game got away from us. We let one slip away.
But the night’s most viral moment came when Knicks shooting guard Josh Hart, who finished the evening with a season-high 22 points and six assists, hit a three-pointer and then proceeded to playfully start shooting up a despondent-looking Raptors bench.
Raptors stars Ingram and Barrett looked on angrily as they both pitched towels at a gloating Hart.
“Josh Hart started shooting finger guns at the Raptors bench and somebody hit him in the face with a towel,” one social media account wrote of the exchange alongside a video that has been viewed over one million times.
“Josh Hart had jokes for the Raptors — and Toronto had one ready for him,” the New York Post tweeted, sharing a clip to its X account.
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Trade deadline moves on the horizon?
After the final buzzer, there wasn’t any lingering bad blood between Hart, Ingram and Barrett. Following the conclusion of the game, Hart was seen embracing the two and sharing a word with Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic.
With the win, New York moves into second in the Eastern Conference with the 29-20 Raptors sinking down to fourth place in the standings behind the Knicks, Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons.
As the Feb. 5 trade deadline looms, GM Bobby Webster and the Raptors have been linked to several high-profile players, including Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dallas’ Anthony Davis and Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis.
But any big move would likely mean the departure of homegrown Canadian Barrett or Quickley.
The players are aware of rumblings that change might be coming. But Ingram said that the club needs to be “more prepared.”
“We’ll look at the film for the next time we do play those guys, but we know we just let one slip away,” he said.
The Raptors return to action Friday night against the Orlando Magic.
mdaniell@postmedia.com
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