The first-year forward scored 22 points on 73% shooting to surpass Scottie Barnes’s rookie playoff
Collin Murray-Boyles walked off the Scotiabank Arena floor Thursday night having done something no Toronto Raptors rookie had done in a playoff game before. The 20-year-old forward scored 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting, surpassing the previous franchise rookie postseason scoring record of 18 points that Scottie Barnes had set four years earlier. The performance came in a moment that demanded exactly what Murray-Boyles delivered, with Toronto hosting a must-win Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers trailing the series two games to none.
The Raptors won convincingly, pulling within 2-1 in the first-round series and giving a sellout crowd at Scotiabank Arena the kind of night that changes how a franchise thinks about its future. Murray-Boyles finished with eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block alongside his scoring output, while posting a plus-21 rating in 28 minutes of play.
He became the first rookie in nearly 20 years to record at least 20 points on 70% shooting in a postseason game, according to available historical data.
Barnes and Murray-Boyles as a two-headed force
The evening belonged as much to Scottie Barnes as it did to the rookie beside him. Barnes recorded 33 points and 11 assists, a playoff career-high performance that kept Cleveland’s defense occupied and created the spacing and driving lanes that Murray-Boyles exploited throughout. The two operated in concert in a way that left Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson searching for answers.
Atkinson acknowledged after the loss that Toronto’s physical dominance in the frontcourt had dictated the game. Their force, he said, had worn Cleveland down. The Cavaliers were outscored 60-40 in the paint and gave up 23 points off 22 turnovers, a margin that reflected how thoroughly Murray-Boyles and Barnes controlled the game’s interior.
The parallel between the two players has become impossible to ignore. When Murray-Boyles blocked a dunk attempt by Jarrett Allen in Game 2 and then rejected an Evan Mobley lob in the same sequence, those around him described the experience of watching him as something close to watching a younger Barnes discovering what he was capable of.
A physical presence that does not play like a rookie
Raptors forward Jamison Battle, who hit four three-pointers in Game 3 with considerable help from Murray-Boyles screens and passes, offered the most direct assessment of what his teammate brings. Battle said it felt like Murray-Boyles had 20 rebounds even though the box score showed eight, and described the edge and physicality as unlike anything a first-year player typically brings to a playoff setting.
Barnes physically pushed Murray-Boyles toward the scorer’s table when signaling to enter the game during a key third quarter sequence, a gesture that the rookie described as encouraging in the clearest possible terms. He said he did not fully understand why Barnes did it but recognized that it reflected confidence from a franchise cornerstone who sees something in him worth pushing toward the moment.
Murray-Boyles said he approaches the playoffs without fear of the opponent or the stage, framing his mindset around doing whatever the team requires rather than managing the weight of the occasion.
What the numbers say about his impact
The statistical profile Murray-Boyles has assembled through three games goes well beyond the scoring record. He is averaging 17.7 points and 6.3 rebounds for the series while shooting 72.7% from the field, a true shooting mark that places him among the top ten of all 101 players who have logged at least 50 playoff minutes. His name appears at similar heights in screen assists, contested rebounds, and paint points, a category he leads the entire NBA in through the first round.
Since his playing time increased midway through Game 2, Cleveland’s turnover rate has risen, their frequency of rim attempts has dropped, and Toronto’s rebounding rate, paint finishing, and transition opportunities have all trended in the right direction.
What comes next for Toronto
The Raptors will enter Game 4 Today without guard Immanuel Quickley, who remains sidelined for the series with a hamstring injury. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Whether coach Darko Rajakovic moves Murray-Boyles into the starting lineup in place of Jakob Poeltl is among the questions the team faces heading into the afternoon.
What is not in question is the position Murray-Boyles has earned within this rotation. Three playoff games in, the ninth overall pick from last summer’s draft has demonstrated that the Raptors did not select him to develop quietly behind Barnes. He is already standing beside him.