Title: Raptors Takeaways: Physicality, scoring consistency called into question
Date: January 30, 2026
Original Source: Sportsnet
Synopsis: In my latest at Sportsnet, I wrote about the Raptors squandering a double-digit lead for a second game in a row against their Eastern Conference peers.
It felt a little too familiar, a little too soon.
Two days after unravelling in the third quarter against the New York Knicks, the Toronto Raptors found themselves stumbling in the second half once again on Friday, en route to a 130-120 loss to the Orlando Magic.
The formula for the come-from-ahead defeat felt similar. A peer in the Eastern Conference’s meaty second tier turned the dial up in terms of physicality and defensive intensity, and the Raptors couldn’t match it. An opponent found their three-point stroke and the Raptors don’t often have one of their own to counter. And half a game with notable positives ended instead with earned disappointment.
It looked, briefly, as if the Raptors would answer Orlando’s push better than they did New York’s on Wednesday.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 