Right after securing their spot in the NBA Cup quarterfinals and enjoying a six-game winning streak, the Toronto Raptors suffered a setback. The underrated star of that East Group, RJ Barrett, abruptly exited the game against the Brooklyn Nets tonight. It was a close game at that point. The Raptors eventually announced he won’t return to finish the game. The Raptors still managed to win and extended their winning streak to seven games.

The incident went down in the third quarter. The forward went for a dunk and seemingly landed awkwardly. He left the court with about seven minutes left in the quarter. The initial report said he hurt his knee.

The 25-year-old had played 20 minutes at this point. He tallied 16 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, 4 for 8 from the field and 2 for 3 from the arc before he was ruled out.

Remarkably, his last two points came of a spectacular fastbreak dunk. Barrett took a steal, ran coast to coast, and flew to the rim to dunk and put the Raptors up 65-72. The announcers noted he was limping right after while the play continued.

Barrett’s frustration was evident as he headed to the locker room, letting out an audible yell along the way. The Raptors later confirmed he had suffered a right knee sprain.

Despite his absence, the Raptors maintained their momentum. They opened the fourth quarter without their star forward and, after a tightly contested battle, secured a 119-109 victory to improve to 11-5 on the season.

RJ Barrett keeps Toronto’s chances alive

Even though the Raptors won this game, they certainly don’t want RJ Barrett sidelined for too long. Since the Raptors acquired him from the Knicks in 2023, the forward’s consistency has turned Toronto into a contender in the East.

It was visible in that very play that hurt him. He’s versatile on both ends of the floor and able to create his own shots. Through the first 16 games of this season, Barrett is averaging 19.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting 50.7% from the field, 34.5% from three-point range and 70.3% from the free-throw line.

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Toronto’s balanced offensive approach shines when Barrett is on the floor. While the Nets’ Tyrese Martin led all scorers with 26 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 25, the Raptors controlled the tempo with their distributed attack. Barrett’s 16 points matched Ja’Kobe Walter’s season high and trailed only Scottie Barnes’ team-leading 17.

Brandon Ingram contributed 14 points on a relatively quiet offensive night by his standards this season. However, he reached a significant career milestone, scoring his 10,000th point on a corner three-pointer—his only field goal of the second quarter.

The Barrett, Barnes, and Brandon trio have been Toronto’s consistent scoring options. The team probably won’t want that disrupted. For that, they’re going to need RJ Barrett to return.