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Toronto shrugs off poor defensive first half en route to 119-108 win over conference-leading Detroit
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Published Mar 15, 2026 • Last updated 6 minutes ago • 4 minute read
Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram
Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (left) moves the ball up court as Detroit Pistons guard Kevin Huerter defends during the first half in Toronto on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Photo by Frank Gunn /THE CANADIAN PRESS
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It might have been the most impressive Raptors performance of the season.
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A huge second half propelled Toronto to a stirring 119-108 victory over Eastern Conference leader Detroit on Sunday night.
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It was the second straight home win this weekend for the Raptors after a pair of deflating road losses.
Brandon Ingram was remarkable, scoring 34 points, Jakob Poeltl outstanding with 21 points and 18 rebounds, Scottie Barnes did it all with 14, 10 rebounds and eight assists, plus dominant defence and RJ Barrett had a monster two-way game and scored 27. Cade Cunningham had 33 for Detroit.
The Raptors out-rebounded Detroit and shrugged off a poor defensive first half to get the home fans on their feet.
“I thought our competitive spirit was there during the whole game, even when we were not making shots (in the) first half … we just kept fighting,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “We just kept fighting, finding the ways. And all the guys that played tonight, they contributed to the big win.”
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ONE OF THEIR BEST
The Raptors played a tough first half, but trailed Strong 64-59 largely because they let the Pistons shoot 65% and shot 3-for-17 on three-pointers themselves.
The third quarter was a completely different story, though. The Pistons were held to 26% shooting (7-for-26, including 1-for-7 from beyond the three-point arc) and Toronto’s offence got going. Ingram and Poeltl combined for 20 points in the quarter and Toronto scored 19 more points than Detroit.
Add it all up and it was one of the most impressive quarters of the season by the Raptors.
It would have been encouraging against any opponent, but with the East leaders in town, it was a statement.
Detroit battled back and got within three in the fourth, but Ingram hit a big three-pointer, then nailed a jumper.
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Later, Barrett scored, Cunningham missed, Poeltl secured the rebound and Ingram hit a three-pointer to seal it.
Ingram sounded pleased with the result.
“I think it’s around that time for things to start clicking defensively, offensively. We went through a little rough patch these previous four games, but we found it,” Ingram said. “We had some conversations. Our communication on the floor has been good, and we’ve been able to fight back when we’ve been down and stay together. So, you know, it’s building.”
ANSWERING THE BELL
The Raptors did a far better job dealing with Detroit’s considerable physicality compared to the previous meeting, an easy Pistons win here in February. It didn’t look nearly as much like men against boys compared to that game.
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That said, one area where that wasn’t the case was in shrugging off screens. The Pistons consistently created separation by setting sturdy picks and Duren in particular feasted for a flurry of dunks when Cunningham wasn’t finishing himself.
Notably, Toronto limited the minutes of slight players like Ja’Kobe Walter (just 12 minutes even though he was first off the bench), perhaps because they felt they couldn’t handle Detroit’s strength advantages.
The Raptors also set good screens of their own, throwing the Pistons off. Had they hit more three-pointers the game might not have even been close. They definitely created a lot of good looks on offence.
Ingram isn’t concerned about the chatter surrounding these Raptors, especially following their rough stretch before Friday and Sunday.
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“Outside noise is outside noise, whatever opinion they have about us, that’s cool, but we continue to fight, try to be the best we can on every single time that we play and live with the result,” he said.
THERE’S HISTORY
This was the second meeting between the teams this season, with Detroit winning at Toronto in February despite missing Duren and Isaiah Stewart.
The two franchises have plenty of shared history and there’s a chance a second playoff meeting could even be in the cards, especially if Boston supplants the Pistons atop the East now that Jayson Tatum is back.
The all-time best Piston, Isiah Thomas, was Toronto’s first general manager and franchise face and several early Toronto coaches and management members were with Detroit first.
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Back in 2002 the Pistons beat the Raptors in five games in a tight series that came down to Chris Childs forgetting the score and launching a desperation three-pointer. That season had been memorable because Vince Carter was lost for the season in March, but the team won 12-of-14 to make the playoffs before nearly upsetting the Pistons.
From there, the Raptors collapsed and didn’t really recover until 2006, while Detroit made shrewd moves after the close call and went on to make the conference final six straight years, won one NBA title and lost another Finals in seven games.
HOOPS FACTORY
No American high school produces elite basketball players at the rate of Montverde Academy in Florida.
Four of Sunday’s 10 starters went there, along with Raptors reserve Sandro Mamukelashvili. Franchise players Cunningham and Barnes were teammates, Barrett and Mamukelashvili teamed there earlier and all-star Pistons centre Duren attended a different year.
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Other recent alumni include Canadian brothers Andrew and Ryan Nembhard, former Raptor Precious Achiuwa, solid rookie Derik Queen and top pick Cooper Flagg.
Canadian Caleb Houstan, of the Atlanta Hawks, also went there and started alongside Barnes and Cunningham.
AROUND THE RIM
Barnes becomes the 16th Raptor to block 100 shots in a season. Marcus Camby’s franchise record of 230 is safe, but it’s a notable achievement, especially since Barnes is also on pace to become just the 18th Raptor with 100 steals in a season. Oliver Miller is the only Raptor with both an 100 block and 100 steal season (and like Barnes this year he did it the same season, back in Year 1, 1995-96) … Poeltl had a season-high 14 rebounds and moved into ninth in franchise history with 60 double-doubles.
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