Raptors All-Star Scottie Barnes fractures left hand vs. Warriors, out

Toronto Raptors All-Star Scottie Barnes suffered a broken third metacarpal bone in his left hand in Friday night’s 120-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors, the team announced. The Raptors said in a press release Barnes will be out indefinitely.

Toronto has 22 games remaining on their schedule, with the regular season ending six weeks from Sunday. Barnes hurt himself trying to defend Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga’s layup attempt in the second quarter. It appeared teammate Immanuel Quickley’s foot might have hit Barnes on the hand on the play.

Barnes was in visible pain immediately, walking behind the three rows of seats on the baseline. He re-entered the play to commit a take foul when Golden State came down the court on the next possession, and went to the locker room. The Raptors announced the injury a little more than an hour after the game ended.

The 2021-22 Rookie of the Year had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in his almost 16 minutes of play.

Barnes made his first NBA All-Star Game this year, getting in as an injury replacement with Joel Embiid and Julius Randle sidelined. Barnes has played in all 60 games for Toronto this year, taking on the role of franchise centerpiece following the trades of OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. Barnes is averaging 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.

He has missed just 13 of the first 224 regular-season games of his career.

The Raptors had been playing much better since the All-Star break, recording their first three-game winning streak of the season before losing the last two games. With 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists against Indiana on Monday, he recorded his franchise-record fourth triple-double in a season.

For Toronto, there is no replacing Barnes. Since the trades, the Raptors are short on size on the wing. They will likely rely on bigger lineups, using both of Jakob Poeltl and Olynyk. They are also likely to give younger players, such as Gradey Dick and Javon Freeman-Liberty, more playing time.

At 22-38, Toronto is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, four-and-a-half games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the final spot in the Play-In Tournament. Their first-round pick is protected if it falls in the top six. If seventh or worse, it will be sent to the San Antonio Spurs to complete last year’s deadline deal for Poeltl.

The Memphis Grizzlies currently own the league’s sixth-worst record, two games worse than the Raptors.

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(Photo: Cole Burston / Getty Images)