Scottie Barnes intentionally missed a free throw, and it turned out to be the smartest play of the night. The Toronto Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers 116-115 in overtime on January 11, 2026, in a game that came down to the final second and featured two short-handed rosters throwing everything they had at each other. Here’s the full player-by-player breakdown of how it happened.
Final Score and Game Overview
Toronto Raptors 116, Philadelphia 76ers 115 (OT) — played January 11, 2026, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
- Records after the game: Raptors 24-16, 76ers 21-16
- Philadelphia turnovers: 22, one shy of a season high
- Philadelphia assists: 11, a season low
- Toronto 3-point shooting: 5-of-32 (15.6 percent), the team’s worst mark of the season
- Streak implications: Toronto’s third straight home win over Philadelphia; the Raptors’ third straight win overall
This was the first game of a home-and-home back-to-back between the two teams, and both squads were dealing with significant absences. Despite Toronto’s historically bad shooting night from beyond the arc, the Raptors found a way to win at the free-throw line and on the glass.
How the Ending Played Out
Regulation ended with Philadelphia holding a slim lead before Toronto forced overtime. In the extra period, Philadelphia actually built a lead again, going up 112-107 with a few minutes left, before Toronto closed the game on a decisive run. The Raptors took a 113-112 lead late in overtime, and the possession that decided the outcome came from Scottie Barnes at the free-throw line.
With 0.8 seconds remaining, Barnes went to the line for two free throws. He made the first to put Toronto ahead by one, then intentionally missed the second, a smart veteran decision that ran the clock out and denied Philadelphia any chance to grab an offensive rebound and set up a game-tying attempt. It’s a small strategic wrinkle that regular NBA viewers will recognize, but it’s exactly the kind of detail that decides one-possession games.
Scottie Barnes: The Best Player on the Floor
| Stat | Scottie Barnes (TOR) |
| Points | 31 |
| Assists | 8 |
| Rebounds | 7 |
| Free Throws | 10-of-12 |
Barnes was excellent from start to finish, but his free-throw shooting down the stretch was what actually won the game. Going 10-of-12 from the line in a contest this physical and chaotic is a significant reason Toronto came away with the win despite one of its worst shooting nights from three-point range all season. His performance later earned him Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors.
Full Scoring Breakdown
| Player (Team) | Points | Notable Stats |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 38 | Team high for Philadelphia |
| Scottie Barnes (TOR) | 31 | 8 AST, 7 REB, 10-12 FT |
| Jamal Shead (TOR) | 22 | Career high |
| Immanuel Quickley (TOR) | 20 | — |
| VJ Edgecombe (PHI) | 17 | — |
| Collin Murray-Boyles (TOR) | 17 | Matched career-high 15 REB |
| Kelly Oubre Jr. (PHI) | 13 | — |
| Domnick Barlow (PHI) | 13 | — |
| Quentin Grimes (PHI) | 13 | — |
Maxey was the best individual scorer on the floor, but Toronto’s balance made the difference. Four different Raptors scored in double figures, and Jamal Shead’s career-high 22 points off the bench gave Toronto scoring depth that Philadelphia simply couldn’t match given its own injury situation.
Collin Murray-Boyles’s Rebounding Effort
Murray-Boyles quietly had one of the more important performances of the night, adding 17 points while matching his career high with 15 rebounds. Against a Philadelphia frontcourt already missing Joel Embiid, that kind of production on the glass gave Toronto extra possessions all night, which mattered enormously in a game decided by a single point.
Why Both Rosters Were Short-Handed
This game was defined as much by who wasn’t playing as who was.
Philadelphia was without two of its biggest names. Joel Embiid sat out with left knee and left groin issues, and Paul George was held out with a left knee injury, both as part of the 76ers’ plan for the first night of a back-to-back.
Toronto had its own absences. Brandon Ingram missed his second straight game with a right thumb injury, Jakob Poeltl missed his tenth straight game with a lower back issue and had no clear return timetable, and RJ Barrett was inactive with a sprained left ankle. Scottie Barnes himself was returning from a sore right knee that had kept him out of Toronto’s previous game at Boston. To make matters more chaotic, Raptors starter Ja’Kobe Walter exited just four minutes into the first quarter with a sore right hip.
Given the number of key players missing from both rosters, the fact that this game came down to the final possession in overtime says a lot about the depth both teams were forced to rely on.
Turnovers and Shooting Woes
Two statistical oddities stood out in this game. Philadelphia committed 22 turnovers, just one shy of matching a season high, and finished with only 11 assists, a season-low mark that reflected how disjointed the 76ers’ offense was without their two stars orchestrating things. Meanwhile, Toronto shot just 5-of-32 from three-point range, the worst three-point shooting performance of its season. That the Raptors still found a way to win despite that kind of shooting slump speaks to how well they controlled the game inside, at the free-throw line, and on the boards.
The Rematch: What Happened the Very Next Night
Philadelphia didn’t take long to respond. In the second half of the back-to-back on January 12, 2026, the 76ers got both Embiid and George back into the lineup and used an 80-point first half to beat Toronto 115-102. Maxey scored 33 points and Embiid added 27, and Philadelphia shot 13-of-20 from three in the opening half alone, a stark contrast to Toronto’s shooting struggles the night before. The result evened the season series and served as a reminder of how much the return of two All-Star-caliber players can change a matchup practically overnight.
Season Standings Context
Both teams entered this stretch fighting for playoff seeding in a crowded Eastern Conference. By season’s end, Toronto finished with a 46-36 record, good for the fifth seed, while Philadelphia finished 45-37, one game back in seventh. Both Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram earned All-Star selections for Toronto that season, and head coach Darko Rajaković was later tabbed to coach in the All-Star Game itself, a notable achievement for a team that spent much of the year jockeying with Philadelphia for playoff positioning.
Key Takeaways for Fantasy Purposes
- Jamal Shead’s career night off the bench is worth tracking, especially in deeper fantasy formats where injury-driven opportunity can create real value.
- Scottie Barnes’s free-throw reliability in clutch moments adds to his profile as a genuine two-way, high-usage option once he’s fully healthy.
- Tyrese Maxey’s 38-point outburst even in a loss shows he remains a high-floor scoring option regardless of who else is available around him.
- Collin Murray-Boyles’s rebounding numbers suggest real per-minute value any time Toronto’s frontcourt is thin.
Final Word
This was the kind of game that reminds you why regular-season NBA basketball between two flawed, banged-up teams can still be must-watch television. Toronto overcame one of its worst shooting nights of the season through hustle, free-throw execution, and a signature performance from Scottie Barnes, while Philadelphia got a monster night from Tyrese Maxey that simply wasn’t enough without its two stars on the floor. The very next night flipped the script entirely, which is a good reminder that one game rarely tells the whole story between two teams that would go on to battle for playoff position all season.
FAQ
What was the final score of the Raptors vs. 76ers game? Toronto won 116-115 in overtime on January 11, 2026, at Scotiabank Arena.
Who had the best individual performance in the game? Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 38 points for Philadelphia, but Scottie Barnes was the most impactful player overall, finishing with 31 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, and the game-deciding free throw in overtime.
Why did Scottie Barnes intentionally miss his second free throw? With 0.8 seconds left and Toronto up by one, missing the second free throw on purpose ran the clock out and prevented Philadelphia from getting the ball back with enough time to attempt a game-tying shot.
Which players were missing for each team? Philadelphia was without Joel Embiid (knee and groin) and Paul George (knee). Toronto was missing Brandon Ingram (thumb), Jakob Poeltl (back), and RJ Barrett (ankle), and lost starter Ja’Kobe Walter early to a hip injury.
Did Philadelphia get revenge in the rematch? Yes. The very next night, with Embiid and George back in the lineup, the 76ers beat Toronto 115-102 behind 33 points from Maxey and 27 from Embiid.
What made this game statistically unusual? Philadelphia committed 22 turnovers and had only 11 assists, both near season extremes, while Toronto shot just 5-of-32 from three-point range, its worst outside shooting performance of the season.
Did either player receive league recognition after this game? Yes. Scottie Barnes was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week the day after this overtime win.
How did this stretch affect the season standings for both teams? Toronto finished the season with a 46-36 record as the fifth seed in the East, while Philadelphia finished 45-37 in seventh, with both teams competing closely for playoff positioning throughout the year.
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