The Toronto Raptors beat the New York Knicks 148-98 in a preseason game on Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena.
The sharpest detail is who produced the loudest half of the night, as Kawhi Leonard played his first game in a Raptors uniform since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals and scored 21 points before halftime.
Sixteen Minutes Was All It Took
Leonard played 16 minutes and 40 seconds, all in the first half, and scored 21 points on 6 of 12 shooting, including 4 of 8 from three point range, with five rebounds and two steals. Toronto led 86-47 at halftime, and Leonard sat for the entire second half with the game long decided. For a preseason appearance, the efficiency and the ease of it were the story: he did not need a full night, or even a full half of heavy usage, to look like the best player in the building.
Leonard had been reacquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in the offseason, and he had missed Toronto’s first two preseason games, the Oct. 3 game against Miami and the Oct. 10 game against the Los Angeles Clippers, a 114-106 Toronto win in Vancouver. That made Tuesday his first Raptors appearance of this return, at home, and the crowd at Scotiabank Arena treated it as an event rather than a tune up.
Scottie Barnes focused on the defensive side of Leonard’s game afterward:
“Defensively, oh my God, he looked amazing, the way he played today. Just being active, poking at the ball, physicality. It was amazing.” Scottie Barnes on Kawhi Leonard, via Michael Grange of Sportsnet
Barnes, Murray-Boyles And Barrett Fill The Box Score
Barnes had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. Collin Murray-Boyles had 19 points on perfect 7 of 7 shooting, with nine rebounds. Canadian RJ Barrett added 17 points, giving Toronto production across the lineup on a night when the final margin reached 50 points. It was Toronto’s third preseason game, after the Quebec City opener covered in Heat Rout Raptors In Quebec City, and the growth of this Toronto sports week was on show across town as well in Nylander Powers Maple Leafs Past Avalanche.
Context matters for the margin. The Knicks rested their starters for this game, so a 148-98 preseason scoreline should not be read as a regular season measuring stick. What can be read plainly is Leonard’s condition and timing: 21 points in under 17 minutes, four made threes, active hands on defence, and no need to play a single second half minute.
By The Numbers
- Final score: Toronto Raptors 148, New York Knicks 98, preseason at Scotiabank Arena on Oct. 13
- Kawhi Leonard: 21 points in 16:40, all in the first half, on 6 of 12 shooting and 4 of 8 from three
- Leonard added five rebounds and two steals; Toronto led 86-47 at halftime
- Scottie Barnes: 19 points, six rebounds and four assists
- Collin Murray-Boyles: 19 points on 7 of 7 shooting with nine rebounds; RJ Barrett scored 17 points
- The Knicks rested their starters for the game
The supporting performances gave the night a useful second layer. Barnes produced across the box score, Murray-Boyles was perfect from the field with nine rebounds, and Barrett, the Canadian starter in this group, added 17 points. If Leonard’s return is going to lift Toronto in the regular season, it will be through exactly this shape: his two way presence at the top, and younger core players producing beside him rather than watching him. Tuesday, against resting opponents, was only a rehearsal, but the shape of the team in that rehearsal was clear.
Preseason, But Not A Small Night In Toronto
Preseason results fade quickly, and a 50 point win over a resting opponent will not matter in the standings. Leonard’s return matters for a different reason. The last time he wore this uniform in this building, Toronto was finishing a championship run in the 2019 Finals. Seeing him score 21 first half points in a Raptors jersey again, beside Barnes and Barrett, connects that history directly to the team Toronto is trying to build now.
Toronto’s regular season opener is Oct. 21 against Chicago, and Leonard’s ramp up is the central question between now and then. Tuesday offered the best available early answer: he looked sharp, he looked physical, and in Barnes’s words, he looked amazing on defence. The Raptors have won two of their three preseason games, with one more thing settled that no box score can fully show. Their returning star is back on the Scotiabank Arena floor, and he did not need long to remind the building what that looks like.
