RJ Barrett's season-high 31 points leads Raptors past Mavericks 122-92

Toronto Raptors' RJ Barrett (9) shoots on Dallas Mavericks' Cooper Flagg (32) during first half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Sunday, March 8, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., had a season-high 31 points to lead the Toronto Raptors in a 122-92 rout of the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Barrett add six rebounds and three assists as Toronto (36-27) won for the first time in three games. Jakob Poeltl had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards.

Scottie Barnes added 17 points and five assists for the Raptors, who are trying to hold on to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Daniel Gafford’s double-double couldn’t help Dallas (21-43) snap its seven-game losing skid. He had 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Rookie sensation Cooper Flagg had 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Reserve guard Ryan Nembhard of Aurora, Ont., added two points, two assists and a rebound as the Mavericks cleared their bench with five minutes left to play.

Trayce Jackson-Davis dislocated his right middle finger during warm-ups, leaving Toronto short-handed at centre with rookie Collin Murray-Boyles already out with a sprained left thumb.

Takeaways

Mavericks: Although Dallas had 27 second-chance points to the Raptors’ 12, the visitors were dominated in transition, getting four fast-break points while Toronto scored 21 on the break.

Raptors: A solid 48-for-95 (50.5 per cent) night on field-goal attempts helped Toronto overcome a poor three-point shooting performance where the Raptors went 10-for-36 (27.8 per cent) from beyond the arc. Toronto also shared the ball well, getting 39 assists to the Mavericks’ 22, even as it was outrebounded 48-41.

Key moment

Brandon Ingram’s seven-foot running pull-up shot with 6:28 left in the third quarter capped a 10-0 Raptors run. It also gave Toronto a 21-point lead, its largest of the game to that point.

Key stat

Barrett became the eighth Canadian in NBA history to reach 8,000 career points. He joined Steve Nash (17,387), Andrew Wiggins (15,074), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (12,971), Jamal Murray (11,126), Rick Fox (8,966), Kelly Olynyk (8,253) and Dillon Brooks (8,014). Barrett has 8,018 points in his career.

Up next

Dallas: Visits the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

Toronto: Visits the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press