The Toronto Raptors played against the team with the best record in the league, and it showed.

While there were some impressive moments, mostly fueled by a spirited bench effort, the Raptors looked largely outclassed by the Golden State Warriors, their hyper-focus on Stephen Curry allowing for red-hot shooting performances from Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole that ultimately led to their doom.

The Raptors have now dropped four of their last five games. They move to an 8-10 overall record and are 6-4 on the road. On Wednesday, they’ll play their last game of this West Coast trip, stopping briefly in Indiana before returning home.

Here are a couple key takeaways from the night that was.

Toronto Raptors Takeaways vs. Warriors

2. Scottie Barnes is still a rookie

Yes, it’s true. Scottie Barnes is indeed, mortal.

This wasn’t the first game he’s appeared that way, but it may have been the most obvious. For the entire night, he seemed unsure of himself, questioning all of his decisions and searching for where to best fit in. At the same time, he was also less energetic than usual, appearing weighed down from his first extended NBA road trip.

This is to be expected, though—not only is Barnes simply a rookie, subject to the inevitable Rookie Wall and general growing pains of being a new arrival in the world’s toughest basketball league, but he’s also playing a far more significant role than he did in his final college season. At Florida State last year, he played a grand total of 595 minutes. This season, through 15 games with Toronto, he’s already logged 530 minutes.

“Well, he’s gonna play a lot more than that,” head coach Nick Nurse told reporters post-game. “He’s gonna play a lot of minutes. He’s really, really young and he needs the court time to get better.”

Beyond that, Barnes’ rookie status means he’s still trying to figure out his positioning in the offensive hierarchy of the team. His talent means he can probably take on a bit of a larger role than he has so far, something that Nurse has voiced, but he evidently does not wish to disrupt the established scorers on the team, especially as someone whose game is based around unselfish playmaking.

“I think he was a little flat to start, but he hung in there,” Nurse added. “It’s important he didn't let that ride all the way through the whole game. He got aggressive, he took a couple shots, he started going to the rim, and you can only say so many times that’s more of what we want him to look like is catching and shooting those, ‘cause they’re there in rhythm and if he’s got chances to crack a lane and get down there and be big at the rim, do it.”

Against the Warriors, Barnes was seeing a lot of Draymond Green as well, which provided him with numerous learning experiences. Something that, while perhaps difficult to watch now, will be good for him in the long run.

This is only the start of Barnes’ journey as a member of the Raptors, and there are sure to be many more evenings like Sunday’s to come. But hey, that’s the rookie life in the NBA, even for one of the best.

1. Raptors' bench is blooming

On a positive note, the Raptors’ bench played pretty well again on Sunday.

Coming off a bounce-back performance last time out, the pine provided 38 points, with Dalano Banton and Precious Achiuwa leading the charge and combining for 19 of that total.

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“We try to come in, play with a lot of energy, run up and down the floor,” Achiuwa said. “The bench, we’re a lot younger, so we come in trying to pick up the pace of the game, play fast, transition, play defence, get out and run and just basically bring a lot of energy.”

Banton, in particular, was mesmerizing. He was arguably Toronto’s best player outside of Pascal Siakam, entering the game and immediately providing the spark via a change of pace he’s become known for.

But not only did he shift the game into a different gear, he did it while adding a couple new elements—mainly some smooth off-the-dribble jumpers, a couple of which came in the midrange and another from beyond the arc. They were perfect complements to his playmaking (three assists), finding Achiuwa multiple times and forming what seems to be the start of some nice two-man chemistry.

Despite the Raptors ultimately losing the game by 15 points, Banton finished a plus-seven in 20 minutes, the highest mark on the team.

The unanticipated reliability of Banton has been crucial for Toronto this season, and the sight of an expanding offensive game should have everyone giddy.