TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors made history in the first and second quarters of their 139-87 win on Sunday over the Orlando Magic and they didn’t really know or care about it when it happened.
Orlando led by as many as seven points but then the Raptors rallied with a 31-0 run, holding the Magic scoreless for seven minutes and 48 seconds in a span that stretched from the first quarter to the second. The 31-0 streak was the largest unanswered streak ever by a team in the 30 seasons in which the NBA tracks its playing data.
Scottie Barnes, playing out of position at power forward and serving as Toronto’s point guard, had his 28th double-double of the season with 23 points and a career-high 15 assists. He was instrumental in the dominant 7:48 stretch but said he was just feeling the flow of the moment.
“I didn’t know that was happening,” Barnes said. “I just know we’re all really locked in, just trying to keep making turnovers and keep playing as hard as we can on defense so that helps us get ahead.”
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The previous longest scoring streak was when the Dallas Mavericks earned a 30-0 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 2, 2023. AJ Lawson of Brampton, Ontario, is currently on a two-way contract, going back and forth between Toronto and the G League’s Raptors 905, playing in Dallas’ 30-0 and Toronto’s 31-0 wins.
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Reserve center Sandro Mamukelashvili added 19 goals off the bench. His first turnover helped start Toronto’s historic run and he finished with the game’s highest defensive rating of plus-47.
“I think it’s so fun playing that you don’t notice things like (running). You just keep running,” Mamukelashvili said. “I feel like everyone enjoyed it.
“We were very physical. We tried to throw strikes, trap and hit and just do some of the things we usually do in practice. So it was a really fun game.”
It was an important win for a Raptors team trying to miss the play-in tournament with eight games remaining in their regular season.
Toronto (42-32) is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, half a game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks (42-33), who hold the final playoff spot after Sunday’s games. Orlando (39-35) is eighth in the conference, holding the second play-in spot, 2 1/2 games behind the Raptors.
“I know we need it every game,” Barnes said. “So we keep checking (the standings).
“We know we need it every game, and every game we have to deliver.”
The Raptors are guaranteed to play at least one game once the regular season ends thanks to the Milwaukee Bucks’ 127-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. That eliminated Milwaukee from the post-season and ensured that Toronto would reach the play-in tournament or playoffs.
Mamukelashvili said he would be lying if he said he didn’t check the standings.
“I think everyone went home and checked it out. We got there right away,” he said. “We fought all year to get in a good position. We slipped, we recovered.
“Now that it’s all stacked up, the margin for error is very small, and I think you have to be aware of that.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2026.
© 2026 Canadian Press
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