Raptors end losing streak as Immanuel Quickley returns to lineup

On the heels of an 11-game losing streak — and the night after a 54-point loss — Quickley’s return helped Toronto win their first win since in nearly a month.

With a 130-113 win against the Brooklyn Nets, the Toronto Raptors remain undefeated in the year 2025.

The victory was a welcome vibe shift that not only ended an 11-game losing streak, but also came the night after a 54-point loss (franchise record!) to the Boston Celtics, two games after they coughed up 31 turnovers (a franchise record at home), and three after giving up 155 points to the Memphis Grizzlies (indeed, a franchise record). What a difference! The Raptors are a bit like those of us who decided to pig out during the holidays and start exercising after New Year’s.

Of course, there was a key difference between this Raptors team and the one that broke all those unfortunate franchise records: Immanuel Quickley.

This game marked the long-awaited return of the team’s starting point guard, who’d managed to play just three games between a series of injuries this season. With RJ Barrett (illness) missing a second straight game — and Bruce Brown back in a cowboy hat for injury management — Quickley’s return was all the more important for a Raptors team that had scored just 71 against Boston the previous night.

Following a relatively quiet opening quarter (his first points came with 5 seconds left in the frame), Quickley soon settled in as the Raptors’ offensive engine, finishing the first half with 11 points and 7 assists. His drives to the hoop consistently collapsed the defense — something the Raptors had been sorely missing — which he capitalized on with kickouts to shooters and a couple of and-one finishes.

With Quickley back on the court, Barnes spent more time off the ball, allowing him to sneak behind the defense and cut for some easier buckets that had been tougher to come by as the team’s sole point guard over the last while.

Plus, Quickley’s return adds more to the equation than just his points and assists. His presence as an organizer and NBA veteran are a welcome addition for a team that has gotten lost at times. “When I’m on the court, I can almost bark out instructions that kind of put people in the right spots to be successful, especially defensively,” Quickley said postgame. “We did a great job, all the guys.”

After falling behind by 9 points, the Raptors fought back and entered halftime up 65-64. Through the third quarter and about 5 minutes into the fourth, the Raptors’ lead hovered around five points.

Then, thanks to a masterful stretch by Immanuel Quickley, they blew the doors off.

The Raptors called timeout, up 104-97, and returned from the break with a Quickley-Shead-Dick-Agbaji-Poeltl lineup. They scored on each of the next four possessions, with all 10 points assisted by Quickley.

By the time the Raptors subbed Barnes back in, Toronto had taken a 15-point lead, though they kept their foot on the gas pedal and extended the lead to 21.

Barnes finished the game as the leading scorer, scoring 33 points on 14-of-18 shooting, along with 13 rebounds and 5 assists, and made some disruptive defensive plays. Quickley finished with 21 points and 15 assists, and was a team-high +23. Jakob Poeltl added 12 points and 9 boards, as well as 2 blocks. Ochai Agbaji finished with 14 points; Ja’Kobe Walter had 11.

With reduced ball-handling responsibilities, Gradey Dick managed to score 22 points thanks to some crafty off-ball movement and a 4-of-8 shooting night from behind the three-point line. The Raptors as a whole made 16 of their 32 three-point attempts — a great percentage thanks partly to luck, but was also a function of the gravity created by Quickley’s presence.

D’Angelo Russell, making his second debut for the Brooklyn Nets, came off the bench and put up 22 points in 26 minutes, along with 8 assists. But his offense wasn’t enough to get the win for a Nets team that was missing Cam Thomas and traded away ex-Raptor Dennis Schröder, and has now lost 8 of its last 10 games.

For the Raptors, the game was a promising sign of things to come with Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes both on the court. Before tonight, the Quickley-Barnes-Dick-Poeltl grouping had played just nine minutes together this year, all in the season opener. With Barrett? Just four minutes.

Tonight was a chance to see the core (sans Barrett) play together. And, despite losing by 54 points just a day earlier, the Raptors seemed joyful in this game, with plenty of dancing and skipping to go around.

Where did that vibe shift come from? Immanuel Quickley put it best after the game: “Winning is fun.”