TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors' injury woes never seem to end.
All-star forward Scottie Barnes sprained his right ankle in the third quarter of Toronto's 113-108 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday, leaving the game after just 23 minutes of playing time. It's the latest in a long string of injuries for the Raptors, who have yet to play a game this season with their optimal starting lineup.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic isn't questioning his team's luck, however.
"I never ask that question myself," said Rajakovic after the game. "When injuries happen, those type of injuries, they are out of my control.
"I'm not questioning anything there. We're going to go through it. We're going to walk the walk."
Barnes, Toronto's only all-star last season, had to be helped off the court with 6:47 left in the third as the Raptors held a 73-68 lead. He clutched at his ankle and writhed in pain under the basket after blocking a Karl-Anthony Towns shot and landing on the Knicks forward's foot.
Barnes had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists before going down. He and RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., had combined for 15 points in the third alone before Barnes's injury.
"It was a tough blow. We were playing so well, especially with Scottie on the floor," said Barrett, who led all scorers with 30 points. "I think at the end of the day, it was a close game at the end.
"We had a chance there. It was a hard-fought game. Those are the ones you wish you get to win. But I think we played pretty well overall.”
Rajakovic said that X-rays on Barnes's ankle came back negative and he would be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
"It’s always tough when you see one of your teammates get hurt, especially a player that has (Barnes's) impact for us," said rookie Ja'Kobe Walter, who had a career-high 19 points off the bench. "But I think it’s just next man up.
"All of us understood that we still got to fight because there's still a game to be played, but always of course want to be playing."
Towns made a short layup with 36 seconds to play then drilled a 29-foot three-pointer with six seconds left on the clock to give New York the win.
Towns finished with a double-double, scoring 24 points and pulling down 15 rebounds for New York (15-9) in a close game that was tied 13 times and had 19 lead changes.
Jakob Poeltl had a double-double with 14 rebounds and 10 points as Toronto (7-18) finished its five-game homestand with a 2-3 record.
Barnes, Barrett, and point guard Immanuel Quickley are meant to be the core of Toronto's starting lineup but they have not been on the court together for 47 consecutive games, dating back to the 2023-24 campaign when Barnes had season-ending surgery to repair a fracture to the third metacarpal in his left hand.
Quickley has only played in three games this season.
He missed nine with a pelvic contusion after a hard fall in the Raptors home opener, played two games, and then partially tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. Rajakovic said pre-game that he expected more imaging would be done on Quickley's elbow this week.
Backup centre Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., only made his return to Toronto's lineup on Saturday after missing the first 21 games of the season.
Walter, the Raptors' 19th overall pick in last summer's draft, didn't make his NBA debut until Nov. 1 after he sprained his shoulder before the pre-season began. He missed nine more games when he re-aggravated it.
Barrett sprained his shoulder in a similar way in the first exhibition game of Toronto's pre-season, only returning on Oct. 28 after missing the first three games of the season.
"Obviously, at the beginning year, we had a lot of people out, including myself," said Walter. "All of us trust each other enough to be in the game and just feel free.
"I think just even though people are getting hurt, we still work."
This isn't even Barnes's first injury of the season. He missed 11 games from Oct. 30 to Nov. 18 with a fractured orbital bone after taking an errant elbow to the face.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host the Atlanta Hawks (13-12) on Wednesday.
Raptors: Travel to Miami take on the Heat (12-10) on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2024.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
