TORONTO 鈥� Canadian Shaedon Sharpe's 36-point performance led the Portland Trail Blazers past the Toronto Raptors 112-103 on Thursday.
Sharpe, from London, Ont., was in an all-Canadian backcourt with Toronto's Dalano Banton as Portland (34-43) won back-to-back games. Sharpe added six rebounds and five assists, while Banton had 23 points.
Deni Avdija had a double-double with 26 points and 15 boards as the Trail Blazers gained critical points in the NBA Western Conference standings.
RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., had 18 points, five rebounds and four assists for Toronto (28-49). Orlando Robinson added 14 points.
Ochai Agbaji and A.J. Lawson of Brampton, Ont., came off the Raptors bench for 15 and 13 points respectively.
Toronto was eliminated from the Eastern Conference's playoff picture after a 137-118 loss at Chicago on Tuesday.
The Trail Blazers are 2 1/2 games behind the 10th place Sacramento Kings in the West. Sacramento, which did not play on Thursday, holds the final play-in spot in that conference.
Takeaways
Trail Blazers: Sharpe was dominant in the first half, scoring 11 points in the first quarter and nine in the second. He didn't slow down in the third either, adding seven more points in the first five minutes of play in that period.
Raptors: Because Toronto's looking at a lottery pick, head coach Darko Rajakovic leaned on his depth with an eye to developing young players for next season. As a result, the Raptors reserves outscored Portland's 47-14, but the Trail Blazers ran a shorter bench as they tried to seal the win.
Key moment
A driving Sharpe layup with 5.4 seconds left in the third quarter capped a 17-8 Trail Blazers run to close the final 4:26 of the period. That gave Portland a seven-point lead that they would hold on to through the fourth.
Key stat
Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups spoke pre-game about the pros and cons of crashing the boards for offensive rebounds. Portland won that fight on Thursday, getting 22 second-chance points to Toronto's 11.
Up next
Toronto hosts the Detroit Pistons at Scotiabank Arena on Friday.
Portland continues its road trip with a stop in Chicago against the Bulls.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
