TORONTO — Continuing their hot start to the season, the Toronto Raptors became the first team to advance to the NBA Cup knockout stage on Friday night.

With a 140-110 win over the Washington Wizards, combined with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 120-109 win over the Indiana Pacers, the Raptors clinched first place in Group A and a spot in the quarterfinals. Even if the Raptors lose their final group play game against the Pacers next Wednesday, they are guaranteed to finish ahead of the Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks, both of whom can still finish with just one loss. The Raptors have already beaten the Cavaliers and Hawks in tournament play, giving them the tiebreaker against both teams.

This is their first knockout-round appearance in the short history of the NBA Cup. They went 1-3 in each of the first two seasons of the competition.

“I think it’s awesome,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said. “I think our guys deserve the opportunity to compete in that setup. It’s gonna be a really different feeling for us because it’s going to be one game that will decide if we’re going to the final four or not. Definitely we have the ambition and desire to be there.”

The Raptors never trailed again after giving up the first bucket of the game. They set a franchise record for points in a third quarter with 48, turning a 10-point halftime lead into a 28-point advantage after the frame. Brandon Ingram had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Raptors. RJ Barrett also scored 24 points, while Scottie Barnes and Sandro Mamukelashvili both added 23.

“It feels amazing,” Mamukelashvili said. “We were talking about it before the game. Everybody said to not play around with this game, just come out there with the mentality to just go and get a great win to make sure we qualify.”

With the win, the Raptors moved to 11-5 overall this season, good for second place in the Eastern Conference.

THE RAPTORS CLINCH EAST GROUP A!

The first team to secure a spot in the Knockout Rounds of the @emirates NBA Cup 🏆 pic.twitter.com/OGGAKLFo4d

— NBA (@NBA) November 22, 2025

The Raptors’ opponent in the knockout stage of the NBA Cup is yet to be determined. Within each conference, the three group winners and a wild-card team — the non-group winner with the best point differential, assuming there is a tie with records — advance to the quarterfinals, which will be held Dec. 9-10 in the arena of the higher-seeded team. The group winner with the best record (or point differential, if tied) will play host to the wild-card team, while the other two group winners play each other. The Raptors are currently 3-0 with a plus-53 point differential, putting them in the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

“When you step into that environment, it’s just going to feel that way,” Barnes said of the opportunity for the young Raptors to play in an elimination game. “Refs are gonna get a bit more lenient, back away with some calls. They’re gonna let you be more aggressive, more physical. I watched it on TV last year: It looked kind of like NBA basketball.”

Group play wraps up with games next Wednesday and Friday. The semifinals (Dec. 13) and championship (Dec. 16) will be played in Las Vegas.

This season, the Raptors have won twice on the road in Atlanta and Cleveland, and also beat the 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks en route to their impressive start. Ingram, averaging 21.1 points, leads the Raptors in scoring. Barnes has supplied all-defense-level play early on, helping the Raptors establish the most productive fast-break offense in the league. The Raptors have now won six games in a row, their longest winning streak since winning eight in a row in January and February of 2022.

The game against Washington was the start of a four-game homestand after the Raptors played 10 of their first 15 games on the road. The Brooklyn Nets, Cavaliers and Pacers visit Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, respectively.