Immanuel Quickley Explains How Raptors Rallied Past Clippers

For three quarters on Monday night, the Toronto Raptors looked like a team with nothing left on the second night of a back-to-back, but the fourth quarter changed everything in a 125-118 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome.

Toronto trailed 91-78 after three quarters and was still down 12 with about six minutes left, and from there the defense took over.

The Clippers had six turnovers and shot 30% in the fourth quarter, while Toronto won the period 47-27.

Forward Scottie Barnes scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth and finished with 15 rebounds and eight assists, and his turnaround jumper with 2:08 left gave Toronto its first lead of the night as part of a 12-1 run.

Forward RJ Barrett added 26 points, and forward Collin Murray-Boyles had 18.

Guard Immanuel Quickley was just as important, scoring 14 of his game-high 27 points in the final quarter while going 10-of-11 at the free-throw line for the night.

After the game, he explained to Sportsnet's Michael Grange what it took to turn things around.

"Sometimes the game is just not going your way, and you've to make it go your way with defence, with stops, with rebounding, taking care of the ball," Quickley said.

The Raptors were tired and missing forward Kawhi Leonard and center Jakob Poeltl, and they still won on the road by getting stops instead of waiting for shots to fall.

The shooting is still a problem, though.

Toronto went 8-of-29 from 3 and 31-of-48 from the free-throw line, and Grange noted that the Raptors rank 25th in the league in free-throw shooting and 27th in 3-point shooting this season.

Missing that many free throws is going to cost this team some games, even with a defense that can turn a night around.

Barnes is the reason this group can win ugly.

He has bounced back from his scoreless night against the Timberwolves last month with big games, including a career night against the Magic, and on Monday he made the biggest shots when Toronto needed them.

Leonard has been out with a left knee injury and was not with the team in Los Angeles.

Grange reported that an update on his condition is expected Tuesday and that he is likely at least two weeks away from playing, while Poeltl missed his second straight game with a shoulder issue.

The Raptors have been learning the hard way what they miss without Leonard, but this win showed they can still beat teams while he is out.

Toronto is now 4-3 and 1-1 on its four-game road trip, which continues in Denver against the Nuggets on Wednesday.

A win like this means more to me than a blowout, because good teams find ways to win on nights when nothing comes easy.

Quickley and Barnes showed they can carry the Raptors through those nights until Leonard gets back, and that gives this group a real chance to keep stacking wins in the meantime.