TORONTO – Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic doesn’t like to get ahead of himself, instead having his players just focus on the game in front of them.
They made one small exception on Friday night.
As they prepared to play the Washington Wizards, the Raptors spoke about how a win — coupled with an Indiana Pacers’ loss — would help them advance to the knockout stage of the Emirates NBA Cup for the first time in the in-season tournament’s three-year history.
“Everybody said to not play around with this game, just come out there with the mentality to just go and get a great win to make sure we qualify,” said reserve centre Sandro Mamukelashvili. “I think we came out, we did that now we’ve just got to lock in for the next game, but we’re really happy.
That focus paid dividends as Toronto romped to a 140-110 victory over Washington. Indiana lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-109 earlier in the night, meaning that when the Raptors walked off the Scotiabank Arena court they had won East Group A and were the first team to clinch an NBA Cup quarterfinal berth this season.
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Brandon Ingram had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead Toronto (11-5) to its sixth straight win.
RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., scored 24 points and pulled down eight boards, Scottie Barnes added 23 points, including 14 in the third quarter, and Mamukelashvili had 23 points and seven rebounds.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it,” Barnes said of advancing in the NBA Cup. “You know, we’re just playing.
“They told us today that if we win we advanced so we knew it was a big game for us.”
The Raptors sit atop the Atlantic Division, a game ahead of the New York Knicks, and are in second in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Detroit Pistons by 2 1/2 games.
Rajakovic said that doing well in the NBA Cup is secondary to reaching the playoffs, but that the high-leverage games of the tournament could help Toronto’s young core at the end of the season.
“It’s going to be really different feeling for us, because it’s going to be one game that can decide, are you going to the final four or not?” said Rajakovic. “Definitely, we do have a vision and a desire to be there.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to play. I think team is going to be excited about it as well.”
The NBA Cup quarterfinals are played at team’s home arenas, while the semis and finals will be at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“Think you get like a little bonus too,” smiled Barnes. “That’s good, but I’m just happy we’re winning games and we’ll try to go play in Vegas.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2025.
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