The Portland Trail Blazers lead past the Toronto Raptors 112-103 

Shaedon Sharpe poured in 36 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 112-103 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. The victory marked Portland’s second straight and kept their Western Conference play-in hopes alive as they improved to 34-43. Sharpe, a native of London, Ontario, also recorded six rebounds and five assists, shining in an all-Canadian backcourt alongside Dalano Banton, who contributed 23 points.

Deni Avdija added a strong performance with 26 points and 15 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who are chasing the 10th-place Sacramento Kings for the final play-in spot. For the Raptors (28-49), RJ Barrett, from Mississauga, Ontario, tallied 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Orlando Robinson chipped in 14 points, while Ochai Agbaji scored 15. A.J. Lawson, another Canadian from Brampton, added 13 points off the bench in a losing effort.