RJ Barrett Leads Fourth Quarter Run As Raptors Down Hawks, 134-117

Forward RJ Barrett scored a season-high 29 points and led a huge 16-0 fourth-quarter run as the Toronto Raptors beat the Atlanta Hawks 134-117 Saturday night in Scotiabank Arena. Toronto has now won three of its last four games and five straight against Atlanta. Coming into the game, the Hawks had won two in a row—big victories over the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New York Knicks. They had lost their previous seven games before that. Here is what went down in Toronto on Saturday.

Close Through Three Quarters

The Raptors led by six after the first quarter, 35-29, powered by 12 points from Brandon Ingram. Despite 12 points from Jalen Johnson and 10 from Dyson Daniels in the second quarter, Atlanta went into halftime down 77-70. The Hawks stole back momentum in the third frame, connecting on 8-of-15 three-pointers. Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit three of those three-balls early in the quarter, and then finished the frame with back-to-back layups to cut the Toronto lead to one point, 107-106.

Raptors’ Big Run

The Raptors quickly recaptured momentum in the fourth quarter. Toronto started the frame on a 16-0 run, eight of those points coming from Barrett on two three-pointers and an alley-oop dunk. The Raptors allowed the Hawks just 11 points in the quarter, and their lead never fell below double digits the rest of the way.

Barrett and Ingram Go Off for Toronto

Barrett and Ingram both finished the game with 29 points and shot a combined 22-for-34 from the field (64.7%). Barrett had four rebounds and hit four threes. Ingram added nine rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

Toronto also got big games out of forwards Scottie Barnes and Sandro Mamukelashvili. Barnes poured in 20 points with seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. Mamukelashvili came off the bench and contributed 13 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks, and one steal. Point guard Immanuel Quickley pitched in 15 points and seven assists. Raptors’ starting center Jakob Poeltl missed his sixth straight game with a back injury and is expected to be out at least another week.

Alexander-Walker Continues Career Year

Nickeil Alexander-Walker continued his stellar play on Saturday. He led Atlanta with 31 points, hitting 6-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc, and adding four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Alexander-Walker was drafted 17th overall in 2019 by the Brooklyn Nets, but never played a game with the team. After stints with the Pelicans, Jazz, and Timberwolves, he has found his game in Atlanta. Coming into the game, he was averaging a career-high 20.4 points per game.

Johnson and Daniels also had big nights on Saturday. Johnson finished with 30 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds. Daniels scored 20 points and added 12 assists, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Vít Krejčí had 13 points, and Keaton Wallace added 11, both coming off the bench. The sharpshooters combined to hit 7-of-11 three-pointers, but were the only bench players to score in the game.

Atlanta was without starting point guard Trae Young for the fourth straight game due to a bruised right quad. Kristaps Porzingis was also unavailable for Saturday’s game. After missing 10 straight games with an illness, the Latvian-born center had played limited minutes off the bench in the team’s last two games, but was unable to go against Toronto. Guard Luke Kennard rested his sore back on Saturday after scoring 12 points in 21 minutes in Friday’s win over the Knicks.

What’s Up Next?

Toronto improves to 21-15 with the win. Atlanta fell to 17-20 in defeat. After a day off on Sunday, the two teams will go at it again at the Scotiabank Arena on Monday Night.