Sports
Raptors, Wolves each searching for consistency amidst contention
Feb 1, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) shoots the ball against Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images The Minnesota Timberwolves will be searching for consistency when they complete a three-game road trip Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors.
The Timberwolves’ inconsistency was recently exposed in a two-game set against the Memphis Grizzlies.
After defeating the Grizzlies 131-114 on Saturday, the Timberwolves dropped the rematch 137-128 on Monday.
The loss ended a four-game winning streak that followed a five-game losing streak.
The Raptors, meanwhile, opened a five-game homestand with a 107-100 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday. They had lost their two previous games after winning four straight.
This will be the first meeting of the season between Minnesota and Toronto. The teams split two games last season.
In the last game vs. Memphis, Anthony Edwards scored 39 points for the Timberwolves but their defensive intensity was lacking as the Grizzlies shot 50% (44 for 88) from the field.
“Defense wasn’t there tonight like we needed it to be,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said.
The Grizzlies shot 46.3% from 3-point range (19 of 41) and had a 45-40 advantage in rebounds.
Finch was not impressed with the effort.
“It’s on them,” he said. “They’ve got to come and put the work in. It can’t be a sometimes thing.”
Jaden McDaniels had his third straight 20-point game for Minnesota with 29 points on 11-for-14 shooting.
“He got a lot of great offense, but we didn’t get a lot of great defense from him or anyone else,” Finch said. “Offense, I’m not worried about. It comes from wherever it comes from.”
Julius Randle (thumb) and Edwards (back spasms) were listed as questionable before the game. Finch said that Randle was “banged up,” but not enough to miss the game. He finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Both are again listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game, although Edwards is now dealing with left elbow soreness.
The Raptors survived a sloppy game on Sunday to reach 30 wins, matching their total for last season.
Utah committed 24 turnovers leading to 26 Toronto points. The Raptors made 19 turnovers leading to 15 points.
During the game, it was announced that Scottie Barnes was going to the All-Star Game as a reserve. He was mobbed by his teammates during a timeout in the first quarter.
Brandon Ingram, however, did not make the team despite a strong season in which he is averaging a team-high 21.9 points per game.
“There are things that Brandon does at an elite level and there are things that Scottie is doing at elite level, but they’re so different,” said Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic, who will coach the World team in the All-Star Game. “You know, Scottie is amazing in open court and transition. Now, (Ingram) is taking advantage of that. He’s doing a better job in open court as well. (Ingram) is an elite scorer in half court, in (isolations) and post-ups. I think they have a lot of respect for each other and what they bring to the team at the end of the day. Winning basketball games, that’s what they do. They help the team win.”
Barnes had 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots on Sunday.
He limped off the court late in the fourth quarter but returned and is not listed on the injury report. He felt Ingram should also be an All-Star.
“I was disappointed Brandon didn’t make it,” Barnes said. “He has done so much for us this year. Look at the difference from last year to this year. He has been instrumental to our success.”
Minnesota gained some salary cap room Tuesday when it dealt veteran point guard Mike Conley to the Chicago Bulls as part of a three-team trade that included the Detroit Pistons.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tundra Esports, MOUZ unblemished to start ESL One Birmingham
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Tundra Esports and MOUZ went undefeated in Group A on Sunday as ESL One Birmingham 2026 began play with 16 matches in the United Kingdom.
The $1 million tournament, featuring 16 teams in a Dota 2 competition, will award $750,000 in prize money and $250,000 in club rewards as well as 35,460 EPT points spread among all participants.
The group stage runs from Sunday through Wednesday, with two single round-robin groups of eight teams each. All series consist of two games.
The top two teams from each group advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs. The third- and fourth-place teams are delegated to the lower-bracket playoffs, and the remaining teams are eliminated.
The playoffs are March 26-29 with a double-elimination bracket. All matches are best-of-three except for the grand final, which is best-of-five.
Tundra Esports opened with a 2-0 sweep of PARIVISION, winning in 54 minutes on green and 29 minutes on red. Tundra also downed BetBoom Team in 30 minutes on green and 40 minutes on red.
MOUZ swept GamerLegion in 63 minutes on red and 46 minutes on green. MOUZ also swept REKONIX in 34 minutes on green and 29 minutes on red.
Team Yandex recorded a win and a tie on Sunday, while the remainder of Group A had a loss and a tie: BetBoom Team, GamerLegion, PARIVISION, REKONIX and Yakult Brothers.
In Group B, Aurora Gaming and Team Spirit are atop the standings with a win and a tie.
Aurora handled Team Falcons in 50 minutes and 26 minutes, both on green. Team Spirit and Aurora Gaming split their match, with the latter winning in 35 minutes on red and the former wining in 36 minutes on red.
Team Spirit also swept paIN Gaming with victories in 57 minutes on red and 30 minutes on green.
The following teams lost both matches: Nigma Galaxy, OG, Virtus.pro and Xtreme Gaming. Team Falcons and paIN Gaming each lost and tied after the first day.
Each group has eight matches scheduled for Monday.
Prize pool (prize money, club reward)
1. $250,000, $40,000
2. $100,000, $30,000
3. $80,000, $25,000
4. $60,000, $20,000
5-6. $40,000, $15,000
7-8. $27,500, $12,500
8-10. $20,000, $10,000
11-12. $17,500, $10,000
13-14. $15,000, $10,000
15-16. $10,000, $10,000
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spacestation Gaming stay hot in Overwatch Champions Series
A custom gaming keyboard backlit with red LED lights waits for tactile input before Manual took on Boone County in a Rocket League match, which was streamed on YouTube on Thursday, March 5, 2020. Spacestation Gaming recorded their second win in as many days by posting a 3-2 victory over Disguised on Sunday in the Overwatch Champions Series 2026 — North America Stage 1.
The Overwatch 2 online competition, with a prize pool of $75,000, features six teams playing a regular season with a round-robin format from March 21 to April 5. All matches are first-to-three.
The top four teams advance to the regional playoffs, which are April 10-12 and feature a double-elimination bracket. All matches are first-to-three except for the grand final, which is first-to-four.
Spacestation Gaming followed up their 3-0 victory over LuneX on Saturday by outlasting Disguised on Sunday.
Disguised jumped out to a fast start by sandwiching a 2-1 victory on Lijiang Tower and a 3-1 triumph on Aatlis around a 3-0 setback on Rialto. Spacestation Gaming, however, bounced back with a 3-1 win on Numbani and 89.69m-62.11m victory on Runasapi.
LuneX Gaming rebounded from Saturday’s setback with a 3-0 victory over Extinction.
LuneX notched a 2-1 win on Lijiang Tower, a 128.06m-51.42m victory on Esperanca and 3-2 triumph on Suravasa.
Saturday’s Week 2 matches:
–Team Liquid vs. Dallas Fuel
–Disguised vs. Extinction
Standings
1. Spacestation Gaming, 2-0, +4
2. Dallas Fuel, 1-0, +2
3. Team Liquid, 1-0, +1
4. LuneX Gaming, 1-1, 0
5. Disguised, 0-2, -3
6. Extinction, 0-2, -4
Prize pool:
1. $30,000, qualifies for Champions Clash, NA Stage 2
2. $15,000, qualifies for Champions Clash, NA Stage 2
3. $12,000, qualifies for NA Stage 2
4. $8,000, qualifies for NA Stage 2
5-6. $5,000, qualifies for NA Stage 2 promotion/relegation
–Field Level Media
Sports
OpTic Texas atop final standings at CDL Major 2 qualifying
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
OpTic Texas finished with the best record at 10-1, including a win on Sunday in the conclusion of Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifying.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams were playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.
First place in the standings was worth 100 CDL points for OpTic Texas, who along with the next five teams will head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs. The teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.
Boston Breach and Cloud9 New York, which finished 11th and 12th, did not advance.
The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points. The runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.
On Sunday, the Vancouver Surge outlasted the Riyadh Falcons 3-2. Vancouver opened with a 250-237 win on Scar Hardpoint and 6-4 win on Raid Search and Destroy. But the Falcons drew even with wins on Scar Overload (6-3) and Exposure Hardpoint (250-83). The Surge captured the last map, Colossus Search and Destroy, 6-2, for the win.
Kenyen “Capsidal” Sutton of the United States was match MVP with 105 kills to 101 deaths as the only Surge player in positive numbers.
The Los Angeles Thieves went the distance to down Paris Gentle Mates 3-2. The Thieves started fast with a 250-107 win on Den Hardpoint and 6-4 win on Colossus Search and Destroy. PARIVISION rallied with a 5-3 win on Exposure Overload and 250-176 victory on Colossus Hardpoint. Los Angeles took the match with a 6-2 win on Raid Search and Destroy.
Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez of France was match MVP with 90 kills and a plus-6 kill-death differential for Los Angeles.
The Miami Heretics swept Boston Breach, winning 250-157 on Den Hardpoint, 6-4 on Exposure Search and Destroy and 6-2 on Exposure Overload.
Diego “SupeR” Escudero of Spain was match MVP with 59 kills and a plus-15 differential for Miami.
OpTic Texas closed out the week with a sweep of Toronto KOI, winning 250-216 on Den Hardpoint, 6-3 on Raid Search and Destroy and 5-4 on Scar Overload.
Brandon “Dashy” Otell of Canada was match MVP, pacing OpTic with 64 kills and a plus-18 differential.
Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifying final standings (match record, map differential, CDL points)
1. OpTic Texas, 10-1, +21, 100
2. Miami Heretics, 7-4, +11, 70
3. Los Angeles Thieves, 7-4, +9, 70
4. GS Minnesota, 6-5, 0, 60
5. Riyadh Falcons, 6-5, +6, 60
6. FaZe Vegas, 6-5, +3, 60
7. Carolina Royal Ravens, 6-5, 0, 60
8. Toronto KOI, 5-6, -1, 50
9. Vancouver Surge, 4-7, -1, 40
10. Paris Gentle Mates, 4-7, -4, 40
11. Boston Breach, 3-9, -13, none
12. Cloud9 New York, 2-9, -20, none
–Field Level Media
Tundra Esports, MOUZ unblemished to start ESL One Birmingham
Spacestation Gaming stay hot in Overwatch Champions Series
