Jakob Poeltl Praises Scottie Barnes' Career Night In Raptors' Loss to Magic

The Toronto Raptors didn't have the night they hoped for on Friday when they began NBA Cup competition against the Orlando Magic, suffering a close 121-114 loss in spite of a monster night from Scottie Barnes.

The 25-year-old forward led the Raptors with 41 points on 19-for-34 shooting and a 66.7% conversion rate at the free throw line. He was also a force in other facets of the game, grabbing five rebounds and collecting two steals.

Barnes' performance quickly caught the attention of center Jakob Poeltl who praised his perseverance against a pesky Magic defense.

"He looked like a man on a mission," Poeltl said, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. "He was really, really aggressive out there. They tried to throw everybody at him, it didn’t really matter too much. He made some very tough shots. It’s too bad that we couldn’t help him enough tonight."

Poeltl had a solid showing of his own, shooting an efficient 50% from the field and collecting 11 rebounds while also logging three assists. Those figures were a tremendous improvement from the team's Sunday matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves in which he was held scoreless and only secured a single rebound.

Barnes struggled against the Timberwolves as well, but last night's game showed that Sunday was an outlier for both players, especially for Barnes who averaged 18.1 points per game last season.

However, other Raptors like RJ Barrett and Ja'Kobe Walter must find ways to back up Barnes if they want to come away with a tournament championship. Barrett and Walter mustered just nine points each while Walter found more success from beyond the arc, going 3-for-5.

Nonetheless, Collin Murray-Boyles has continued to shine during his second year in a Raptors uniform, tallying 15 points on the night. First-round pick Allen Graves looked sharp off the bench, scoring seven points and converting on both field goal attempts.

Even though some questionable officiating might've influenced Toronto's struggles, finding ways to overcome that and keep making timely baskets will be key in the Raptors going far this year and possibly making a deep playoff run.

While Barnes won't have nights like he did on Friday very often, the Raptors can confidently depend on him to anchor their starting lineup as superstar Kawhi Leonard recovers on the injured list from knee swelling.

The Raptors will be back in action tomorrow night as they head west to take on the Los Angeles Lakers.