Barnes leads Raptors past Pelicans 119-106

TORONTO – Scottie Barnes had a double-double as the Toronto Raptors routed the New Orleans Pelicans 119-106 on Friday.

Barnes had 23 points, 12 assists and six rebounds for Toronto (41-32). Jakob Poeltl also had a double-double with 18 points and 11 boards.

Raptors point guard Immanuel Quickley missed the game as he recovers from plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Ja’Kobe Walter started in his stead but Barnes was Toronto’s de facto playmaker. Walter was one of four Toronto players to finish with 18 points.

Zion Williamson had 22 points and added seven rebounds as New Orleans (25-50) lost its fourth straight.

Dejounte Murray (injury management) and Trey Murphy (ankle) sat out for the Pelicans. Murray had drawn the ire of Toronto fans on March 11 when he crossed up Jamal Shead and stood over the prone Raptors guard, shouting and flexing.

The game’s tipoff was at 8:30 p.m. local time, an hour later than most Toronto home games as the Raptors had just returned from a lengthy West Coast road trip that ended with a 119-94 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles.

“The trip from L.A., it’s really hard to do it right after the game,” said head coach Darko Rajakovic pre-game. “It would bring you home around 5, 6 in the morning, which is pretty late.

“So we decided to stay over to get some extra rest. (…) We just wanted to push a little bit to give our guys another hour of rest and sleep.”

Takeaways

Pelicans: Both teams struggled to shoot the three ball, but New Orleans was especially bad from beyond the arc. The Pelicans went 7-for-28 from with forward Saddiq Bey responsible for three of those threes.

Raptors: Barnes — who had played every position this season — had more than 10 assists for a third consecutive game, a career high. It was also his 27th double-double of the season, a career best, surpassing the 26 he had last campaign.

Key moment

Barnes stole the ball from Williamson with 2:17 left in the second, feeding Poeltl for a layup to cap a 12-0 Toronto run and a 21-point lead.

Key stat

The win, coupled with Atlanta’s 109-102 loss to the Boston Celtics, moved the Raptors into sole possession of fifth in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks were half a game back of Toronto.

Up next

Toronto: Hosts the Orlando Magic on Sunday in a critical game for both teams vying for a playoff berth.

New Orleans: Hosts the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2026.

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