TORONTO – Jakob Poeltl’s return didn’t exactly go to plan.
The Austrian big man played his first game Wednesday after missing 24 with nagging back pain against the Detroit Pistons, but his Toronto Raptors struggled in a 113-95 loss against the Eastern Conference leaders.
Toronto’s loss marked its seventh in as many attempts against the top three seeds in the East, also including the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks.
The Raptors are also now 4-13 against the 10 best teams in the league overall.
“I think they just outworked and outclassed us a little bit today,” Poeltl said. “They played really physical, they rotated really aggressively on defence and at times we played really well against it, but we just couldn’t knock down open shots. At times, it looked pretty bad and we turned the ball over or we got stuck.”
Detroit, which has just 13 losses on the season, became the first team in the conference to hit the 40-win mark. The Raptors remained fifth, dropping to 32-23.
Poeltl’s first shift partly portended the night to come. He scored the Raptors’ first basket of the game on a pick-and-roll with RJ Barrett, but missed a lefty layup attempt soon after.
On the defensive end, he matched up with regular backup Paul Reed and allowed him to score 11 of Detroit’s first 14 points. Reed finished with 22 points and five rebounds.
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Poeltl was much more active in the second half, picking up four points and three rebounds in the first two minutes. He finished with nine points and six rebounds, playing in roughly five-minute shifts at the beginning of each quarter.
The Austrian said his return “felt pretty good.”
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“Obviously not perfect. Still trying to find a little bit of a rhythm, trying to get my lungs back, trying to find myself again without offence and stuff like that, but overall the back felt good, so I’m happy about that,” Poeltl said.
The 30-year-old was averaging 9.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in 21 contests before Wednesday’s action, missing time on and off because of his back.
His return showed there may still be a long way to go before he is firing on all cylinders once again.
“It was encouraging that he was finally able to come back and play 20 minutes like we planned for him. And it was good to see that he did not have restrictions on the court,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said.
“I always say there is a return to play, and there is return to performance. So it was really good to see him on the court now before the all-star (break) and he can continue to build on this.”
Reed, a career reserve, was only starting because fellow big men Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren began serving seven- and two-game suspensions, respectively, in the wake of Monday night’s melee with the Charlotte Hornets.
Still, the Pistons snagged 17 offensive rebounds.
“When they’re missing Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, that’s something we should not be dealing with. We should do a much better job with that,” Rajakovic said.
Toronto now has eight days off, though a large contingent will be headed to Los Angeles for all-star weekend.
Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram will play in the game, Rajakovic and his coaching staff will lead Team World, and rookies Collin Murray-Boyles and Alijah Martin along with Canadian A.J. Lawson will compete in the rising stars game.
It will be for some deserved recognition for a Raptors team that has exceeded expectations through 55 games. But Toronto will need to take a step against the conference’s elite if they want to make noise after the break.
“I think overall we can be happy with our progress, but we’re also aware that there’s much more room for growth individually and as a team,” Poeltl said. “We have such a long way to go still and teams like tonight kinda show that for us that we’re still not where we want to be.”
For now, Rajakovic is pleased — but sees more growth ahead.
“Hopefully after the all-star break we will have everybody healthy, so we’re gonna be able to make a next step for us,” he said. “I believe that our best basketball is ahead of us and not behind us.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
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