NBA

Strong performance, but Pöltl loses against the leaders

Narrow defeat for Jakob Pöltl (right) and his Raptors(Bild: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A strong performance by the Toronto Raptors against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association (NBA) went unrewarded on Thursday (local time). The Canadians lost 126-132 to the NBA leaders, now unbeaten in twelve games, and conceded their 30th defeat in their 38th game of the season.

Jakob Pöltl finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block. The 29-year-old center from Vienna played 33:48 minutes.

The Raptors had defied the league's best team for the entire duration of the game as the clear underdogs. They were even 93:81 ahead in the third quarter. Up until two minutes before the end, everything was wide open for the Cavs at 126:124. In the end, it was the 17th defeat in the 18th away game for the team of Head Coach Darko Rajakovic. Darius Garland led Cleveland with a season-best 40 points in the absence of the rested Donovan Mitchell. Scottie Barnes (24) and Chris Boucher (23) were the Canadians' top scorers.

No game for the Lakers in Los Angeles
For the third away game in a row, Toronto will host the Detroit Pistons on Saturday. Their upcoming opponents missed out on their 20th win of the season with a 104:107 loss against the Golden State Warriors. Cade Cunningham's 32 points were not enough. In downtown Los Angeles, the Crypto.com Arena remained dark on Thursday. The Lakers' clash with the Charlotte Hornets was postponed due to the fires in the metropolitan area of the Californian metropolis.