Scottie Barnes, Raptors rout woeful Wizards

Field Level Media|published: Wed 29th January, 21:57 2025

NBA: Toronto Raptors at Washington Wizards

Jan 29, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) shoots the ball over Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) in the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Scottie Barnes scored 24 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to their fifth straight win, a 106-82 blowout over the Wizards on Wednesday in Washington.

Barnes eclipsed the 20-point mark for the fourth consecutive game, making 10 of 19 attempts from the field while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out four assists. Jakob Poeltl finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while RJ Barrett added 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

Kyle Kuzma led the Wizards with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. Jordan Poole finished with just three points on 1-of-9 shooting, while Kyshawn George added 10 points.

The Wizards have now lost 15 games in a row, one game shy of their season-high 16-game losing streak that saw them go winless for the entire month of November. Washington has just one win in January, though it has one more chance to make it two against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

The Raptors opened the game on a 14-0 run, holding Washington scoreless for the first five-plus minutes of play. After Jonas Valanciunas scored Washington's first points with 6:53 remaining in the first quarter, the Wizards went without a field goal for another four-plus minutes as the Raptors extended their lead to as many as 17 points in the frame.

Barnes finished an alley-oop from Jakob Poeltl to stretch Toronto's lead to a then game-high 27 points with 8:28 remaining in the third quarter. The Raptors led 80-58 after three quarters and stayed ahead by at least 22 points for the remainder of the game, outscoring the Wizards 26-24 in the fourth quarter to secure a 24-point statement win.

The Raptors made 42 of 88 attempts from the field (47.7 percent), draining 11 of 31 attempts (35.5 percent) from 3-point range. The Raptors forced 27 Washington turnovers and outscored the Wizards 54-40 in the paint. Washington was held to its lowest scoring output of the season, making 28 of 72 attempts from the field (38.9 percent) and 5 of 30 from long range (16.7 percent).

--Field Level Media

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