The Toronto Raptors will be without Scottie Barnes for at least three weeks after the All-Star forward suffered a right orbital fracture in Monday’s overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Barnes had 21 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and a career high-tying five steals Monday before exiting late in the fourth quarter after being hit in the eye by Nuggets star Nikola Jokic while fighting for a rebound.

Toronto signed the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year to a five-year contract extension in July that could be worth up to $270million after he became a first-time All-Star last season.

Barnes set personal bests in 2023-24 with 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.47 assists per game. He also shot a career-high 34.1 percent from 3-point range.

Toronto is off to a 1-3 start after going 25-57 last season.

Michael Malone praised the Denver Nuggets' character as they came from behind to defeat the Toronto Raptors for their first victory of the NBA season.

The Nuggets appeared set to begin the campaign with three successive losses, as they trailed by 15 points in the third quarter at Scotiabank Arena.

However, they battled back with Jamal Murray's last-gasp layup off a feed from Nikola Jokic, who registered 40 points and 10 rebounds, forcing overtime at 114-114, before going on to record a 127-125 win.

And Malone acknowledged the stakes were high following his side's difficult start to the season.

"It feels great to get a win after the first two [losses] at home," he told reporters during his post-match press conference.

"What I'm most proud about is the way we finished regulation [time], a 13-3 run. It shows the guys just never quit, they kept on fighting, they kept on competing, they kept on believing in themselves and their team-mates.

"In overtime, we got off to a great start; I thought the defence was really good. This felt like a playoff game in game three of the season."

On the game-tying play that forced overtime, he added: "We know that we have the best post-up player in the world [in Jokic]. Let's play through him; let him make the right read.

"And obviously him and Jamal kind of playing off of each other. Jamal makes a hell of a finish with the reverse layup. Everything worked out in our favour."

Head coach Doc Rivers slammed the Milwaukee Bucks after their slump continued against the Toronto Raptors on Friday, saying losing to "bad teams" is inexcusable. 

The Raptors had lost 15 straight games ahead of their trip to Fiserv Forum, but Gary Trent Jr.'s 31 points helped condemn the Bucks to a surprise 117-111 defeat, their fifth loss in six games. 

Milwaukee were without Giannis Antetokounmpo as the two-time NBA MVP battles a hamstring injury, though Damian Lillard returned after three games out to score 36 points. 

However, it wasn't enough for the Bucks, who pulled within two points with 54.5 seconds left but saw Khris Middleton miss a potential go-ahead 3-pointer before four free throws saw Toronto home.

Still occupying second place in the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee are now just one game clear of the Cleveland Cavaliers and two ahead of the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks.

Each of their last three defeats have come against teams who are .351 or lower in the Washington Wizards (15-63), Memphis Grizzlies (27-50) and Toronto (24-53), leaving Rivers enraged. 

"The last three were against pretty bad teams, and to me that's inexcusable for all of us," Rivers said. 

"This is on me. I've got to figure out what we've got to do to play at a higher pace. The defense has to be better. We've got to work ourselves through this."

Lillard echoed those sentiments, adding: "These are situations where we've just got to have discipline and get the job done, and we haven't.

"But if you ask anybody in the league, they'll tell you these are some of the hardest times of the season.

"We've got to take accountability. If it was one of these games, it's alright, the next two should be handled. To have three of them is disappointing. We've just got to do better."

For the Raptors, Friday's win was their first since March 3 against the Charlotte Hornets, with stars RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley having both been absent in recent weeks.

Barrett had 26 points and Quickley had 25 on Friday, leaving coach Darko Rajakovic to sing their praises, saying: "It's great when we have our guys coming back and playing.

"I thought during the whole stretch the team stayed together. It's good to get a win."

Gary Trent Jr.'s 31 points and Immanuel Quickley's near triple-double sparked Toronto to a 117-111 win over Milwaukee on Friday, which ended the Raptors' 15-game losing streak and extended the Bucks' late-season slump.

Quickley compiled 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, while Trent went 7 of 15 from 3-point range to help the Raptors hand Milwaukee a fifth loss in six games. RJ Barrett contributed 26 points to Toronto's first win since March 3.

The Bucks' woes continued despite Damian Lillard returning from a three-game absence to record 36 points. Milwaukee was without its other superstar, however, as Giannis Antetokounmpo was held out with a sore hamstring.

Toronto seemed on the way towards another defeat after trailing 40-30 five minutes into the second quarter, but Trent led a 16-3 run later in the period that gave the Raptors a 56-51 advantage with a minute to go before half-time.

The Raptors eventually pushed the margin to 14 points when a Trent 3-pointer created a 77-63 lead midway through the third quarter, but the Bucks closed the gap later in the period. Lillard capped a 10-2 spurt with a 3-pointer that cut Milwaukee's deficit to 87-84 in the final minute of the third.

Milwaukee had a chance to pull ahead in the late stages, but Khris Middleton missed a potential go-ahead 3-point attempt with the Raptors up 113-111 with 20.4 seconds left. Quickley then made a pair of free throws and the Bucks were held scoreless the rest of the way.

Middleton finished with 21 points and Bobby Portis tallied 19 points with 10 rebounds off the bench for the Bucks.

Washington stars as Mavericks end Warriors' winning streak

P.J. Washington capped a 32-point night with a tie-breaking layup with 4.5 seconds left that lifted the Dallas Mavericks to a 108-106 victory over Golden State which halted the Warriors' season-high six-game winning streak.

After Golden State erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit on Stephen Curry's jumper with 13 seconds remaining that tied the game at 106-106, Dallas' Tim Hardaway Jr. found a cutting Washington for an inside basket that put the Mavericks back in front.

Klay Thompson then missed a 3-point shot just before the final buzzer as Dallas held on for its 13th win in its last 15 games.

Washington finished 12 of 18 from the field while stepping up with the Mavericks holding out star guard Luka Dončić in the second of a back-to-back, and Dallas also received a 26-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist effort out of Kyrie Irving.

Curry ended with 28 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter as the Warriors battled back from being down 98-88 with under six minutes left.

Golden State also rallied from a slow start, as Dallas built a 29–13 lead less than eight minutes into the game. The Warriors closed out the first quarter on a 19-2 run, however, to take a 32-31 edge into the second.

The game remained tight until the Mavericks scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to open up an 84-76 lead with under 11 minutes left to play.

Fast start propels Suns past Timberwolves

The Phoenix Suns used a quick start and a strong game from Grayson Allen to continue their late-season surge with a 97-87 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Allen gave Phoenix a lift on a night in which All-Star Devin Booker was held to 13 points on 3-of-12 shooting, as the former Duke star recorded 23 points along with eight rebounds.

Kevin Durant added 22 points in the Suns' third consecutive win, while Jusuf Nurkic compiled 11 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.

Booker did have 13 assists and scored the first five points of a 15-0 Phoenix run to open the game. The Suns never trailed at any point, as they shot 55 per cent in the first quarter to build a 32-20 lead and carried a 57-41 advantage into half-time.

Minnesota, on the other hand, struggled to score throughout the evening and fell behind by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter.

The Timberwolves shot just 38.8 per cent for the game while being dealt just their second defeat in their past eight outings. All-Star Anthony Edwards was 6 of 19 while being limited to 17 points, while starting forward Naz Reid managed just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting.

Monday's loss dropped Minnesota into a tie with the Denver Nuggets for first place in the Western Conference.

Jaylen Brown scored 33 points to lead the NBA-leading Boston Celtics to their eighth straight victory, 129-102 over the short-handed Detroit Pistons on Friday.

Payton Pritchard had 20 points and Derrick White added 19 with 11 assists for Boston, which has won 18 of 20 games to continue cruising toward the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Leading scorer Jayson Tatum sat out to rest an ankle for the second time in five days.

James Wiseman scored a season-high 24 points for the Pistons, who have lost five in a row overall and the last nine meetings with the Celtics.

Detroit was missing its top post players in Jalen Duren (back), Stanley Umude (ankle), Simone Fontecchio (toe), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (illness).

Pelicans roll over Heat

CJ McCollum scored 30 points and the New Orleans Pelicans exacted a measure of revenge on the Miami Heat with a 111-88 rout.

Jose Alvarado added 17 points and Trey Murphy had 14 with eight rebounds as the Pelicans had no trouble in the first meeting between the teams since four players were ejected in the most recent matchup in New Orleans last month.

Zion Williamson was limited to only four points in 25 minutes, but the Pelicans won their eighth in 10 games.

Jimmy Butler scored 17 points as the Heat dropped to 17-16 at home, the 19th-best mark in the league. Miami dropped four games behind Southeast Division-leading Orlando.

Thunder down reeling Raptors

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in his only regular-season trip to his native Canada and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away to defeat the Toronto Raptors, 123-103.

Jalen Williams added 20 points and Kenrich Williams and Cason Wallace scored 12 apiece as the Thunder won their fourth straight and remained on top of the Western Conference.

Rookie Gradey Dick scored 21 points for the Raptors, who lost their ninth straight game. Toronto was without seven players, including five regular starters.

Kevin Durant scored 24 of his 37 points in the second half to help rally the Phoenix Suns to a 117-111 win over the hobbled Cleveland Cavaliers in a key inter-conference clash on Monday.

Durant added eight rebounds and six assists for Phoenix, which overcame a 19-point deficit in the second quarter while being boosted by All-Star Devin Booker's return from a sprained ankle.

Booker contributed 27 points on 11-of-22 shooting along with seven rebounds in 38 minutes after missing the Suns' last four games.

Darius Garland went 7 of 10 from 3-point range and finished with 30 points for the Cavaliers, who were again without three injured starters in All-Star Donovan Mitchell, forward Evan Mobley and guard Max Strus. Caris LeVert recorded 17 points and 11 assists in the loss. 

Cleveland has lost two straight and dropped a game behind the Milwaukee Bucks for first place in the Central Division.

Garland and the Cavs came out hot, as the standout guard put up 21 first-quarter points and Cleveland shot 66.7 per cent for the period to build a 41-32 lead. The margin grew in the second quarter, as Garland buried a 3-pointer to cap an 11-2 run that put the hosts up 63-44 with 4:50 left before half-time.

Phoenix closed the gap to 70-63 at the intermission before outscoring the Cavaliers by a 34-21 margin in the third quarter to pull ahead. Durant led the way with 19 points for the period on 6-of-8 shooting. 

Cleveland fought back to tie the game at 104-104 with under eight minutes left, but Booker and Durant led the Suns on a 9-3 flurry that the latter finished with a 3-pointer that gave the Suns a 113-107 lead with 3:43 remaining.

Doncic extends triple-doubles streak, but 30-point run ends

Luka Dončić posted his seventh consecutive triple-double, though his record run of six straight games of at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists came to an end in the Dallas Mavericks' 127-92 rout of the Chicago Bulls.

Doncic recorded 14 assists and 12 rebounds but failed to hit the 30-point mark after being removed from the blowout win midway through the fourth quarter. He finished with 27 points.

Dallas also dominated inside en route to its third consecutive victory, as post players Derrick Lively and Daniel Gafford combined for 44 points on 20-of-21 shooting. Lively missed just one of his 12 attempts while compiling a career-high 22 points, while Gafford was 9 of 9 from the field to end with 20 points.

Gafford is now a perfect 28 of 28 on field goal attempts over his last four games.

The Mavericks set the tone right from the start, as they outscored Chicago by a whopping 44-16 margin in the first quarter while shooting 64.3 per cent as a team. Doncic had 15 points and seven assists for the period and Lively chipped in 10 points in just six minutes.

Chicago never mounted a serious threat the rest of the way, as Dallas took a 62-42 lead into half-time and went ahead by as many as 34 points in the third quarter.

Onuralp Bitim led the Bulls with a career-high 17 points off the bench. Chicago has now lost two straight following a three-game winning streak on the road from March 4-7.

Jokic, Nuggets overcome 22-point deficit to top Raptors

Nikola Jokić compiled a 35-point, 17-rebound, 12-assist triple-double that helped spark a big second-half comeback which lifted the Denver Nuggets to a hard-earned 125-119 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Denver trailed by 21 points in the third quarter and as many as 22 in the game before rallying behind Jokic and Jamal Murray, who recorded 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and scored the go-ahead bucket with 6:48 left to play.

Jokic also had a season-high six steals in addition to his 21st triple-double of the season.

The Nuggets moved to 9-1 since the All-Star break, though the underdog Raptors gave the defending NBA champions all they could handle for much of the night.

Toronto opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run to build a 45-32 lead and extended the margin to 68-51 at the break behind 15 points from RJ Barrett and 13 from rookie Gradey Dick.

The Nuggets began chipping away late in the third quarter, as they closed out the period on a 16-5 spurt to trim the deficit to 98-93 entering the fourth. Jokic had 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the quarter.

Murray's floater midway through the fourth quarter gave Denver a 108-107 lead, though the Raptors continued to keep it close until Michael Porter Jr.'s 3-pointer with 1:02 left to play proved to be too much to overcome as the Nuggets took a 124-119 edge into the final minute.

Barrett finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for Toronto, which also received 24 points from Kelly Olynyk but lost for a fourth consecutive time.

Jayson Tatum scored 32 points and the Boston Celtics overcame Luka Dončić’s second straight triple-double in a 138-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks for their 10th consecutive win on Friday.

Jaylen Brown had 25 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 24 as seven Celtics scored in double figures.

Doncic had 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his 12th triple-double of the season and 68th of his career.

NBA-leading Boston knocked down 21 3-pointers and shot 55.3 percent (52-of-94) from the field to remain unbeaten since a loss to the Lakers on Feb. 1.

The 10-game streak is the longest for the Celtics since a 10-game run during the 2019-20 season.

Kyrie Irving scored 19 points against his former team but shot 9 of 23 as Dallas lost for the third time in four games.

Antetokounmpo powers streaking Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 46 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Chicago Bulls 113-97 for their fifth consecutive win.

Antetokoumpo shot 16 of 22 from the field, made 2 of 3 from long range and sank 12 of 16 free throws in his eighth 40-plus point game this season.

Patrick Beverley scored 14 points and Brook Lopez added 12 for the Bucks, who improved to 8-7 under Doc Rivers and moved into a virtual tie with Cleveland for first place in the Central Division.

Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan became the 35th player in NBA history to accumulate 23,000 points. He scored 12 points – all but two in the second half – and was 5 of 13 from the field after missing his first six shots.

Coby White led the Bulls with 22 points and Nikola Vucevic added 17 with nine rebounds.

Warriors win again on road

Stephen Curry scored 25 points and Jonathan Kuminga added 24 to lead the Golden State Warriors to their eighth straight road win, 120-105 over the Toronto Raptors, who lost All-Star Scottie Barnes.

Moses Moody had 17 points and Klay Thompson was next with 14 as the Warriors won their third straight and 13th in 15 games.

Barnes broke his left middle finger late in the first half and the Raptors said he would be out indefinitely. He had 10 points and six rebounds in 16 minutes, ending a career-best streak of five consecutive double-doubles.

Golden State overcame some troublesome travel after it had to switch planes following Thursday night’s win over New York. The Warriors endured a long wait on the tarmac, finally arriving at its Toronto hotel shortly after 7 a.m. Friday morning.

Bam Adebayo compiled 28 points and 10 rebounds as the Miami Heat overcame the absence of several key players to record a 121-110 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday and extend their winning streak to four games.

Miami moved a half-game ahead of the Orlando Magic for first place in the Southeast Division despite missing two of its stars in Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, as well as starting point guard Terry Rozier. Herro and Rozier sat out due to injuries, while Butler was serving a one-game suspension for his role in an on-court altercation in the Heat's win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

Rookie Jaime Jaquez helped fill the void by producing 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting, and the Heat also got key contributions from reserves Kevin Love and Haywood Highsmith.

Love poured in 19 points in just 15 minutes, while Highsmith scored 15 first-half points to help Miami take a 65-62 lead into the break.

Jaquez then put up 13 points during a dominant third quarter in which the Heat outscored Sacramento by a 36-19 margin. Miami took the lead for good with a 10-2 run that snapped a 71-71 tie, then later scored the final 10 points of the period to build a commanding 101-81 advantage entering the fourth.

The Kings had a three-game winning streak snapped despite Domantas Sabonis registering his league-leading 21st triple-double with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.

Keegan Murray led Sacramento, which was coming off a 16-point road win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, with 28 points. De'Aaron Fox finished with 27 in the loss.

Barnes' triple-double powers Raptors past Pacers

Scottie Barnes recorded his fourth triple-double of the season with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 130-122 win over the weary Indiana Pacers.

Toronto also received big efforts from RJ Barrett and rookie Gradey Dick en route to its season-high third consecutive win. Barrett delivered 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting, while Dick had 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and finished 7 of 9 from the field while making all four of his 3-point attempts.

Playing for the second straight night, the Pacers had a three-game winning streak snapped despite Bennedict Mathurin matching a career-high with 34 points to go along with nine rebounds. Former Raptors All-Star Pascal Siakam had 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his second meeting with his ex-team since being traded to Indiana on Jan. 17.

The Pacers got an off night from leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton, however, as the All-Star guard misfired on nine of 11 shot attempts while being held to nine points.

Indiana did manage to battle back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit, however, to tie the game at 102-102 with just over eight minutes left in the fourth.

The Raptors then regained control with a 13-2 run, which Dick started and finished with 3-pointers, to take a 115-104 lead with 6:21 remaining.

Indiana closed the gap to four points entering the final three minutes, but a jumper by Toronto's Gary Trent Jr. followed by a Barrett 3-pointer helped end any comeback hopes.

Hart's late basket lifts Knicks over Pistons

Josh Hart scored the go-ahead layup with 2.8 seconds left as the New York Knicks held off a determined upset bid from the Detroit Pistons and came away with a controversial 113-111 victory.

The Pistons fought back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to take a 111-110 lead on former Knick Quentin Grimes' layup with 37.3 seconds remaining. New York's Jalen Brunson misfired on a 3-point try on the ensuing possession, but Detroit's Ausar Thompson had the ball stolen away after colliding with the Knicks' Donte DiVincenzo to set up Hart's basket off a feed from Brunson.

Hart missed the free throw for a potential three-point play, but the Knicks collared the rebound and Hart was fouled again with 1.3 seconds left. He made 1 of 2 from the line to prevent a potentially damaging home loss to a Detroit team with an NBA-worst 8-49 record.

Game officials acknowledged afterward that a loose-ball foul should have been called on DiVincenzo during the collision that preceded Hart's basket.

Brunson finished with 35 points and 12 assists and Hart had 23 points and eight rebounds as the playoff-hopeful Knicks won for the second time in three outings following a four-game losing streak. DiVincenzo contributed 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

Detroit was dealt a sixth straight loss despite Cade Cunningham's 32 points and eight assists and an 11-point, 16-rebound effort from Jalen Duren. 

The teams were facing one another for the first time since collaborating on a six-player trade on Feb. 8 that sent veterans Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to New York, with Grimes among the return pieces to the Pistons.

Grimes finished with 14 points while Bogdanovic recorded 13 points and six rebounds off the bench. 

Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said teams must learn how to get to grips with Victor Wembanyama after the number one draft pick excelled in a win for the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs ran out 122-99 winners over the Raptors on Monday.

Wembanyama starred with a triple-double, entering the NBA record books in the process.

With a triple-double of 27 points, 14 rebounds, 10 blocks and five assists.

The 20-year-old became just the fifth player to record a triple-double that includes 25 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks and five assists since 1973-74, when blocks became an official statistic.

Wembanyama joined Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Robinson and Ralph Sampson on that exclusive list, and Raptors boss Rajakovic believes teams will have to adapt to the rookie's stature in skill in the years to come.

"Wembanyama is the player who's going to play in this league for the next 15 years. We need to figure out how to attack and how to play against him," Rajakovic said.

"Definitely a player who's unique with his size and shot-blocking ability. We've got to do a much better job of figuring out how to play against that."

"I felt great today," Wembanyama said after becoming the fourth San Antonio player to record 10 blocks in a game. 

"Great rhythm, started the game strong. I guess it's just the NBA, you know. We've got ups and downs in terms of shape, and today was an up day."

"He did a little bit of everything," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Wembanyama, who leads the league in blocked shots, and is now the first rookie with 150 blocks, 150 assists and 50 steals in a season since Tim Duncan in 1997-98.

"Obviously he's an all-around, talented player. He's got a great feel for the game and it shows in a variety of ways, whether it's passing or making decisions, blocking shots."

Luka Dončić scored a franchise-record 73 points to tie for the fourth-most in NBA history in the Dallas Mavericks’ 148-143 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

Doncic surpassed his previous career high of 60 points after scoring a team-record 41 in the first half.

He joined Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson as players to score 73 points. Chamberlain, who owns the NBA record with 100 points, also had a 78 and a 73-point game, while Kobe Bryant scored 81 on Jan. 22, 2006.

Doncic shot 25 of 33 from the field, was 8 of 13 from 3-point range and made 15 of 16 free throws. He also had 10 rebounds and seven assists in 44 ½ minutes.

No other player has ever had as many points, rebounds and assists in the same game as Doncic did.

His milestone game came in his original NBA home, at least for a few minutes. Doncic was drafted by the Hawks with the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 before having his draft rights traded to Dallas for Young with the No. 5 pick and a 2019 first-round pick used to select Cam Reddish.

Josh Green had 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. was the only other Dallas player in double figures with 13 points. The Mavericks snapped a three-game skid and sent the Hawks to their fourth straight loss.

Trae Young led Atlanta with 30 points and Jalen Johnson added 25.

Pacers rally to spoil Booker’s big night

Obi Toppin snapped a tie on a putback with 3.4 seconds remaining and the Indiana Pacers overcame Devin Booker’s 62 points in a 133-131 win, snapping the Phoenix Suns’ seven-game winning streak.

Booker scored 50 or more points for the second time this season and seventh time in his career, falling eight shy of matching his career-high 70 set at Boston on March 24, 2017.

Pascal Siakam scored 31 points and Toppin finished with 23 and 11 rebounds to help Indiana win its second straight without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton.

The Pacers fell behind 54-37 in the second quarter but whittled the deficit down to 80-70 at halftime. They trailed 114-105 entering the fourth but tied it twice in the final 90 seconds before Toppin’s basket won it.

Harden powers Clippers past Raptors

James Harden had 22 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his 75th career triple-double to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to their fourth straight win, 127-107 over the Toronto Raptors.

Harden, who notched his first triple-double this season, ranks eighth all-time in that category. He has at least 20 points and 10 assists in each of his last three games.

Paul George scored 21 points and Russell Westbrook added 20 as the Clippers won for the 12th time in 14 games.

Scottie Barnes scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter for the Raptors, who lost their fourth straight and ninth in 11 games.

Immanuel Quickley said patience is required as he and RJ Barrett adapt to the Toronto Raptors, after the former New York Knicks were beaten on their return to Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

Quickley and Barrett were traded to Toronto last month as the Knicks moved for forward O.G. Anunoby, with New York also receiving Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn in the deal. 

The duo, who helped the Knicks reach the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, returned to their former home court for the first time on Saturday, receiving standing ovations from the Knicks fans and featuring in a tribute video shown during the first media timeout.

Barrett finished with 20 points and Quickley added 12, but that was not enough to prevent the Raptors from slipping to 16-27 with a sixth loss in their last seven games.

Despite the result, both players were appreciate of the welcome they received from their former team, with Quickley saying: "It was great, just to come back. 

"Obviously we didn't get the outcome we wanted, [but] just to see everybody where I started my professional career was pretty cool."

Barrett added: "It was amazing. Thank you to the fans, for sure. We got a tribute video, I didn't think we were going to get that. That was cool.

"I'm very appreciative of my time here. To come back brought up a lot of emotions, for sure. But it was fun to come back and play basketball again."

Toronto have only won four of their 12 games since the trade went through on December 30, but Quickley accepts it will take time for the duo to build relationships with their new team-mates. 

"It definitely takes time," he said. "It's like meeting a new girl. You've got to take time to get to know her. You've got to take her out to eat, stuff like that.

"You aren't going to just walk up to her and say, 'let's get married.' That's not going to work. No, it'll come together.

"Rome wasn't built in a day. We have to keep working, individually and as a team we have to continue to try to take steps, and if we keep chopping wood and carrying water we'll get there."

The Raptors face the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers in back-to-back home games next week, while the 26-17 Knicks make the short trip to Brooklyn to face the Nets in their next game on Tuesday. 

The Indiana Pacers are acquiring Pascal Siakam in a trade with the Toronto Raptors.

As part of the deal, which was reported Wednesday by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pacers are sending Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and three first-round draft picks to the Raptors in exchange for Siakam.

A third team in the trade, the New Orleans Pelicans, are swapping second-round picks with Indiana and shipping Kira Lewis to Toronto.

Siakam led the Raptors in scoring this season with an average of 22.2 points per game, along with averages of 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists.

Siakam joins a Pacers team that averages a league-high 125.6 points per game and will play alongside All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton.

With a 23-17 record, Indiana sits in third place in the Central Division and in sixth place in the Eastern Conference as it looks to make the play-offs for the first time since 2020. 

A two-time All-NBA selection, Siakam had spent his first eight NBA seasons in Toronto and helped the Raptors win the NBA title in 2018-19.

Drafted 27th overall by the Raptors in 2016, the 29-year-old was named an All-Star in 2019-20, as well as last season, when he averaged a career-best 24.2 points.

Siakam is set to become a free agent this summer, and the Pacers are reportedly expected to re-sign him. He becomes eligible to sign a five-year deal that could pay him as much as $247million.

This is the second big trade in the last three weeks for the rebuilding Raptors, who sent OG Anunoby and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks on December 30.

Anthony Davis and LeBron James felt the Los Angeles Lakers had impressively executed their gameplan to beat the Toronto Raptors, whose coach Darko Rajakovic hit out at the officials.

The Lakers have won back-to-back games for the first time in a month after edging to a 132-131 home win on Tuesday.

Davis scored 20 of his season-high 41 points in the fourth quarter and was was 13 of 17 from the field and 13 of 14 from the free throw line while adding 11 rebounds and six assists.

He made all eight free throw attempts in the final minute as the Lakers held on despite late 3-pointers by Toronto's Dennis Schroder and Gary Trent Jr.

LeBron James had 22 points and 12 assists to help the Lakers win their second straight after a four-game skid.

Scottie Barnes scored 26 points and RJ Barrett added 23 with 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who had won three of four.

The 14 free throw attempts for Davis were a season high and ultimately proved decisive.

"He was able to get a lot of touches and guys were finding him," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said about Davis.

"And it was his ability to get to the free throw line and knock down free throws. It is just a matter of reading the game and seeing how it's going."

Davis added: "It was all of us, it was not just me.

"We had big-time stops. We got rebounds, and they wanted me to get the ball as far as free throws, but the team was just making the right reads and trying to finish."

It was a welcome win for the Lakers after they had also narrowly defeated cross-town rival the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

They are now back to .500 at 19-19 for the season and 13-6 at home, as they look to put their miserable 3-10 run after winning the NBA Cup behind them.

"We knew we had an advantage on the interior and we just tried to get it to [Davis] early and often and late," said James.

Los Angeles hosts the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, while the Raptors are on the road against the Clippers a day earlier.

The Lakers shot 23 free throws in the fourth quarter and 36 overall, while Toronto shot only 13 in total, with Davis going 11-for-11 at the line in the final period.

"It's outrageous. What happened tonight, this is completely B.S.," Rajakovic said, per ESPN. 

"This is shame. Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this. Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter? 

"Like, how to play the game? I understand respect for All-Stars and all that, but we have star players on our team as well.

"How [is it] possible that Scottie Barnes, who is All-Star-caliber player in this league, he goes every single time to the rim with force and trying to get to the rim without flopping and not trying to get foul calls, he gets two free throws for a whole game?

"They had to win tonight? If that's the case, just let us know, so we don't show up for the game. Just give them a win. But that was not fair and this is not happening first time for us."

LeBron was asked about the Raptors complaints and simply replied: "I feel like they fouled and we didn't."

Domantas Sabonis notched his ninth triple-double of the season with 37 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 131-110 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons.

Sabonis shot 16 of 21 from the field, made his only 3-point attempt and was 4 of 4 from the free throw line. He moves within two triple-doubles of Denver’s Nikola Jokic for the league lead.

Keegan Murray scored 32 points on 13-of-17 shooting and De’Aaron Fox added 26 for the Kings, winners of five of seven.

Bojan Bogdanovic led Detroit with 26 points as the Pistons dropped their fifth in a row since ending their NBA-record 28-game losing streak.

Sacramento trailed by 20 points in the first quarter, led by 15 in the third, were tied in the fourth and then pulled away with a 9-0 run in the fourth.

Anunoby helps Knicks stay hot

OG Anunoby scored 23 points and Julius Randle added 20 with eight assists and seven rebounds as the New York Knicks won their fifth in a row, 112-84 over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Anunoby scored 16 points in the first quarter to help the Knicks open a 19-point lead. He shot 6 of 7 from the floor – 4 of 5 from 3-point range – and might have approached his season high of 29 points but the starters played sparingly in the second half.

New York is unbeaten since acquiring Anunoby from Toronto on Dec. 30.

Quentin Grimes had 17 points and Miles McBride had 16 as the Knicks moved a half-game ahead of Miami, Orlando, Indiana and Cleveland for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Davis shines in Lakers’ win

Anthony Davis scored 20 of his season-high 41 points in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Toronto Raptors, 132-131.

Davis was 13 of 17 from the field and 13 of 14 from the free throw line while adding 11 rebounds and six assists. He made all eight free throw attempts in the final minute as the Lakers held on despite late 3-pointers by Toronto’s Dennis Schröder and Gary Trent Jr.

LeBron James had 22 points and 12 assists to help the Lakers win their second straight after a four-game skid.

Scottie Barnes scored 26 points and RJ Barrett added 23 with 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who had won three of four.

Detroit Pistons coach Monty Williams was "almost in tears" after Saturday's 129-127 win over the Toronto Raptors, which saw his team avoid setting a new record for most consecutive NBA losses.

Detroit matched the longest losing run in NBA history on Thursday, when they blew a 21-point lead against the Boston Celtics to equal the Philadelphia 76ers' record of 28 straight losses covering the end of 2014-15 and the start of 2015-16.

The Pistons – who were on the worst single-season losing streak in league history – could have taken that unwanted record outright when they welcomed Toronto to Little Caesars Arena, but Cade Cunningham starred as they avoided doing so.

The third-year guard had 30 points and 12 assists as the Pistons clinched victory over their short-handed opponents by going 11 for 12 from the free throw line in the final minute.

Asked about the mood in the Detroit camp after the team's first win since October 28, Williams said: "I've been a ton of locker rooms my whole life, and that's a first for me, to have that. 

"It wasn't relief, it was like: 'Thank God'. Guys were screaming. I was almost in tears. I'm just so happy for our guys. I'm happy for everybody.

"Sometimes it just takes a win like that to get things started. I just have so much respect for our team."

Cunningham, who hit back-to-back three-pointers in a crucial fourth-quarter stretch to pull Detroit clear, added: "I feel amazing.

"We just kept battling. It's been a long stretch, all these losses, but I'm just happy to be part of a group of guys who don't quit."

Pascal Siakam scored 35 points and Dennis Schroder added 28 for the 12-20 Raptors, who traded O.G. Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks earlier on Saturday and were unable to field new arrivals RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

They sit 12th in the Eastern Conference after losing five of their last six games, while the last-place Pistons are at 3-29 ahead of a four-game road stretch starting against the Houston Rockets on Monday.