TORONTO – For three quarters on Saturday night, the Scotiabank Arena felt like a powder keg. The Atlanta Hawks, despite missing Trae Young, refused to go away, trading haymakers with the Raptors in a high-octane track meet. But when the lights got brightest in the final frame, Toronto didn’t just close the door—they welded it shut.
Behind a top tier performance from the “Maple Mamba” RJ Barrett and the surgical precision of Brandon Ingram, the Raptors (134-117) turned a nail-biter into a blowout, courtesy of a devastating 16-0 run to start the fourth quarter.
The Turning Point: A Defensive Masterclass
Entering the fourth up just 107-106, the Raptors looked like they were in for a dogfight. Instead, they unleashed a defensive hurricane. Atlanta went ice-cold, missing six straight field goals while Toronto’s second unit and starters fused into a scoring machine.
Gradey Dick kickstarted the momentum with a pair of clutch free throws and a thunderous transition dunk off a Scottie Barnes steal. By the time RJ Barrett hammered home an alley-oop from Barnes to make it 116-106, the Hawks looked shell-shocked. Barrett wasn’t done, draining a dagger 24-foot triple minutes later to push the lead to 15.
Star Watch: The Two-Headed Dragon
- RJ Barrett (29 PTS, 7 REB, 3 STL): RJ was hunting tonight. He found his rhythm in the second half, punishing Atlanta’s lack of interior size. His season-high 29 points felt like a statement of intent.
- Brandon Ingram (29 PTS, 9 REB, 2 BLK): “Easy Money” lived up to the nickname. Shooting a blistering 11/15 from the floor, Ingram’s midrange game was an absolute flamethrower. His turnaround fadeaway is becoming an unguardable staple of this offense.
- Sandro Mamukelashvili (13 PTS, 12 REB, 8 AST): The “Georgian Army Knife” was the unsung hero. Filling in for the sidelined Jakob Poeltl, Mamu flirted with a triple-double and set a career-high in dimes. His energy on the glass (4 offensive boards) gave Toronto the extra possessions they needed.
The Technical Eye: Winning the Dirty Work
While the stars will grab the headlines, this game was won in the margins. The Raptors’ length bothered Atlanta all night, specifically Scottie Barnes (20 PTS, 7 REB, 3 STL, 2 BLK). Even when his jumper wasn’t falling early, Scottie’s “point-center” abilities allowed Toronto to play fast.
Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker put up a valiant 31 points against his home-country team, and Dyson Daniels (20 PTS, 12 AST) was a handful in the pick-and-roll, but the Hawks’ defense—which had looked solid against the Knicks just 24 hours prior—crumbled under Toronto’s transition pressure. The Hawks have now surrendered 125+ points in 10 straight losses; that’s a trend Darko Rajaković’s squad exploited ruthlessly.
The Verdict
Let’s be real: seeing Nickeil Alexander-Walker go off in our building is always bittersweet, but watching our boys slam the door in the fourth was pure catharsis. This team is now 17-1 when leading going into the final frame. That’s not a fluke; that’s a culture of closing. We missed Poeltl’s rim protection, but the way Mamu and Barnes rotated to pick up the slack shows the “next man up” grit this city loves.