Achi news desk-
TORONTO – Immanuel Quickley had a double-double as the increasingly healthy Toronto Raptors fended off the Washington Wizards 130-122 on Sunday.
Quickley finished with a game-high 31 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds as Toronto won back-to-back games.
RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., scored 22 points with eight rebounds and seven assists for Toronto (25-53). Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, BC, had 21 points and nine boards.
Barrett and Quickley returned to the Raptors team on Tuesday in a 128-111 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers after a long bereavement.
Toronto guards Gary Trent Jr. and Bruce Brown were both upgraded to active prior to Sunday’s game. A string of injuries up until March had dashed any hope the Raptors had of reaching a play-in berth.
Deni Avdija, Jordan Poole and reserve forward Patrick Baldwin also had double-doubles even as Washington (15-64) lost its third straight. Avdija had 32 points and 10 rebounds, Poole had 29 points and 12 assists, and Baldwin came off the bench for 16 points and 10 boards.
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Toronto needs to have the sixth-worst record in the NBA to keep its first-round draft pick this summer. The draft lottery on May 12 could also shuffle the Raptors out of the bottom six, sending their pick to the San Antonio Spurs as part of last year’s trade for Jakob Poeltl.
Toronto has a 37.2 percent chance of moving into one of the top four picks of the draft and a nine percent chance of the first overall pick.
An 18-6 run early in the first quarter had the Raptors flying out of the gates. The hosts led by as many as 29 points in the opening quarter. Barrett, Ochai Agbaji, and rookie forward Gradey Dick – coming off the bench – led all scorers with eight points apiece as Toronto built a 42-17 lead.
Poor shooting by the Raptors in the second allowed the Wizards to climb back into the game. Toronto made just nine of its 24 field goal attempts in the quarter, including 2-of-6 shooting from three-point range.
Avdija had 13 points in the second as Washington cut the Raptors’ lead to 63-50 at the break.
Toronto held onto the lead throughout the third quarter but pulled away in the fourth, leading by as many as 18 points at the period.
Dick left the game in the fourth quarter with a right groin contusion and did not return.
CARTER HONOR – A tribute to Raptor great Vince Carter recited by Canadian basketball stars Kia Nurse and Barrett running during the first quarter. Carter was named to the 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.
BARNES & POELTL – Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic said he wasn’t sure if star forward Scottie Barnes (hand) or Poeltl (finger) would be back by the Raptors’ season finale in Miami on April 14.
“I have no expectations that they are going to come back or not,” he said. “They’re increasing, and (we’re) trying to get them in the best possible way.”
UP NEXT – Toronto hosts Pascal Siakam and his Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
Washington travels to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves on Tuesday.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 7, 2024.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
