The Toronto Raptors are riding a two-game winning streak out of the All-Star break as they play a potential measuring-stick game in hosting the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder on TSN on Tuesday.
You can watch the game LIVE across the TSN Network, streaming on TSN.ca and on the TSN App, with coverage starting at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
The Raptors crushed the undermanned Milwaukee Bucks 122-94 in Milwaukee on Sunday, even with Raptors All-Star Scottie Barnes out of the lineup due to personal reasons.
It was just the second missed game of the year for Barnes, leading to questions about how the team might respond without their star forward in the lineup. The answer was: very well. Toronto held the Bucks to just 28.1 per cent shooting from three-point range and forced 17 turnovers.
“I think it was just a total team effort,” Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley said after the victory over Milwaukee. “We had a lot of guys step up. Obviously, Scottie [Barnes] not playing, we miss him, probably Defensive Player of the Year, so we just had to all step up, and we did that.”
Bucks coach Doc Rivers spoke to reporters about Barnes before the game, and was very complimentary of the young Raptors star.
“A year or two ago … I wasn’t sure [about Scottie],” Rivers said, noting that he wasn’t certain what kind of player Barnes could develop into as he continues to gain experience in the league.
“Watching them this year, it’s like, ‘Wow, whatever that question was, it’s all gone,’” Rivers said. ”Good to great is a tough stretch. Average to good is hard, too, but that next step is hard. Most people never make it, and it looks like he’s on his way.”
It is not yet confirmed whether Barnes will be in the lineup against the Thunder.
The Raptors improved to 34-23 with the victory over the Bucks and sit comfortably in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Thunder (44-14) own the best record in the NBA, but have lost four of their past 10 games and will not have reigning Most Valuable Player and Hamilton, Ont. native Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the lineup.
Gilgeous-Alexander is dealing with an abdominal injury that has kept him out since Feb. 3 against the Orlando Magic. The Thunder are 4-3 without Gilgeous-Alexander, who is ranked second in the NBA with 31.8 points per game this season.
The Thunder are coming off a 121-113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
The Raptors defeated the Thunder 103-101 in their first meeting this season in January, but the Thunder have won four of the past five meetings between the two sides.
