The Raptors will gun for another win over the Hawks as Toronto hosts Atlanta for the second time in three days.

This will be the first time this season the Raptors have hosted the same opponent in back-to-back games.

Watch the action LIVE Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT on TSN5, TSN.ca and the TSN App.

Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett turned in 29 points apiece and Sandro Mamukelashvili had a double-double off the bench as the Raps took down the Hawks 134-117 in their first game of 2026. It was also the Raptors’ third win in four games as they moved to 21-15 on the season to sit fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Barrett remained on a minutes restriction as he continues to get up to full speed after a sprained right knee kept him out approximately five weeks from Nov. 28 to Dec. 31. He’s been key for Toronto in 2025-26, particularly on the offensive end.

According to NBA statistician Keerthika Uthayakumar, the Raptors are 14-6, score 121.8 points a game with a 119.2 offensive rating and a 56.6 per cent effective field goal percentage – a shooting metric that adjust for the value of three-pointers – with Barrett in the lineup. Without the Mississauga, Ont., native, the Raps are 7-9, have scored 105.2 points a game with a 107.2 offensive rating and have an effective field goal percentage of 50.8.

Raptors with RJ Barrett in the lineup this season:
14-6, 121.8 points, 119.2 offensive rating, 56.6 eFG%

Raptors with RJ Barrett OUT:
7-9, 105.2 points, 107.2 offensive rating, 50.8 eFG%

— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) January 4, 2026

Barrett is averaging 19.4 points and shooting a career-best 50.7 per cent from the field in his 20 games this season. His 29 points against Atlanta on Saturday was a season-high.

The Raptors held a narrow 107-106 lead to begin the fourth quarter but took control with a 16-0 run over the first five minutes of the period. As TSN’s Josh Lewenberg points out, the Raptors have been particularly strong on the defensive end in the fourth quarter as of late, holding opponents to 20.4 points over their past eight games.

Over the last 8 games, the Raptors are holding opponents to 20.4 points in the 4th quarter. They’ve held 6 of their last 8 opponents under 25 points in the 4th and 4 of the last 8 under 20 points.

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 4, 2026

This has helped Toronto climb out of a mini funk that saw them lose eight of 11 games from Nov. 29 to Dec. 26 after a blistering start to the season.

On the flip side, Saturday’s loss dropped the Hawks to 17-20 on the season. Toronto native Nickeil Alexander-Walker – the cousin of Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – arrived with the Hawks on a free-agent deal last summer and has been a revelation for Atlanta.

In his seventh NBA season out of Virginia Tech, Alexander-Walker had stints with the New Orleans Pelicans, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves in a reserve role. A salary crunch meant the T-Wolves couldn’t offer the four years and $62 million Atlanta could, so Alexander-Walker joined the young Hawks and was immediately handed an expanded offensive role.

In 35 games this season, the 27-year-old guard is playing a career-high 32.9 minutes per game and has also more than doubled his scoring average from both last season and his career, coming into Monday’s matchup at 20.7 points a night.

“It’s not just his numbers, which we can all see,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder told reporters Saturday. “You don’t have to be with a player for a long time to get a feel for who they are and what they can do.

“Since the time we were in Utah together, I’ve watched him a lot and seen how he’s evolved defensively, shooting the ball.”

Part of Alexander-Walker’s emergence has come with star guard Trae Young out of the lineup. Young has played only 10 games this season due to an MCL sprain and quad contusion. But the Hawks have fared well without Young, going 2-8 with him as opposed to 15-12 when he’s sidelined.

Young will miss his fifth straight game with the quad injury Monday night.