David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Scottie Barnes Responds to Wednesday's Benching with 25 in Raptors Victory Over Cavaliers
The Toronto Raptors needed a response from Scottie Barnes.
All the excitement from Pascal Siakam's 52-point performance in New York Wednesday night silenced the fact that Barnes had been benched in the fourth quarter. Too many mistakes and a lack of energy made him unplayable. In what's been a disappointing season for the reigning rookie of the year, Wednesday had been a low point.
But Barnes didn't let the benching or questions about his work ethic that surfaced Thursday get to him. When the ball tipped off Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he was a totally different player. If aggressiveness was what the Raptors wanted, the 21-year-old delivered early and often, sparking Toronto to a 118-107 victory as the team heads into a brief Christmas break.
It wasn't sexy or eye-opening as much as it was effective for Barnes. He took the ball deep into the paint on the very first possession of the game, going at Jarrett Allen on the first possession and drawing a foul. When he mishandled a pass from Pascal Siakam moments later, he stayed calm, sizing up Isaac Okoro and then attacking the Cavaliers' young 3-and-D wing with a blowby drive and right-handed finish at the rim. He was engaged in transition and made savvy cuts, finishing twice at the bucket on feeds from O.G. Anunoby.
All of his seven first-half buckets came right at the net without any of those ill-advised mid-range jumpers. He looked like Barnes of a year ago, doing the little things with a high degree of effectiveness.
When Cleveland went on a run in the second half, cutting Toronto's 26-point lead down to just 13, Barnes came up big with his toughest bucket of the night. He slipped a screen and caught a pass from Anunoby at the free-throw line before turning around and nailing a late-shot-clock fadeaway over Robin Lopez.
He did it again in the fourth, going at Darius Garland and Evan Mobley first for a pair of free throws and then a crucial bucket as Cleveland mounted a late rally. When Siakam missed a driving floater with just over two minutes to go, Barnes was there, picking up the rebound and slamming it down to end the Cavaliers' comeback.
This is what the Raptors have been looking for from Barnes, especially on the road. It doesn't have to be fancy, he just has to be engaged and play with the kind of joy he showed last season. On Friday, he did exactly that, once again topping Mobley with 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting with 10 rebounds.
Raptors Get Scoring Hot from 3
Pascal Siakam's buzzer-beating three-pointer from 35 feet out showed just what kind of night it was from Toronto. For a team that's been so bereft of three-point shooting this year, Friday saw a spoonful of regression all at once. Everyone was passing up good shots for great ones, finding teammates in the corners for open looks.
Siakam found Malachi Flynn in transition, driving the lane before throwing a kick-out pass to his red-hot shooting teammate. Flynn later passed up a good look to find O.G. Anunoby for another three, capping off a 7-0 run heading into halftime, and nailing Toronto's 12th three-pointer of the half.
There was no slowing down in the second half, as Fred VanVleet broke out of his funk with two straight threes to open the half, opening Toronto's lead to 22. He added five more including a four-point play late in the third, finishing the night with 18 points on 5-for-10 three-point shooting.
Anunoby, meanwhile, tied his career-high with six three-pointers and 26 points, tying Siakam for the game-high.
Up Next: Los Angeles Clippers
The Raptors will, of course, have the holidays off before greeting Norman Powell, Kawhi Leonard, and the Los Angeles Clippers to town on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at Scotiabank Arena.
