Air Canada - RJ Barrett Gives Knicks Overtime With End-to-End Slam Dunk (Video)
RJ Barrett gave Air Canada a whole new meaning on Monday late afternoon.
With his New York Knicks down 110-108 with just over six seconds remaining in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday meeting with the Toronto Raptors, Barrett took a rebound off a missed Scottie Barnes free throw the length of the floor for a showstopping dunk, bringing those assembled at Madison Square Garden to their feet in jubilation.
Late missed free throws have defined the late stages of Monday's game after the Knicks surrendered a second half lead that reached as high as 10. Misses at the line by Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle perhaps foretold overtime and the Knicks' task of forcing an extra session quite difficult, as one more make from Barnes likely would've led to an intentional foul so as to prevent an equalizer from deep.
Barrett, however, hauled in the rebounds and raced down the hardwood for the highlight, earning his 27th and 28th points of the matinee, a Knicks high in regulation.
It's perhaps only appropriate that Barrett, a Toronto native, often seems to save his best for the Raptors' visits: he has averaged 20.9 points in eight games against the NBA's lone franchise up north, his third-best tally against an Eastern Conference opponent (behind Indiana and Chicago).
Alas for the Knicks, Barrett's heroics went for naught in the grand scheme of it all: primarily anchored by 33 points from Fred VanVleet, the Raptors earned a 123-121 victory, severing New York's three-game winning streak.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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