Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Raptors Open Critical Road Trip With Crucial Overtime Victory Over Knicks
Energy has been the buzzword around the Toronto Raptors lately.
It's one thing to have a dud night every once in a while. As Raptors coach Nick Nurse acknowledged Sunday, every team has a few low-energy games over the course of an NBA season. The problem for Toronto has been the sheer number of those games, particularly on the road.
Now it's do-or-die time for the Raptors with 10 of their next 12 games on the road heading into the trade deadline. That lack of energy on the road just isn't going to cut it anymore, not if Toronto has any hope of proving to the front office it shouldn't be broken up and sold for parts next month.
In Game 1 of this road trip, the Raptors rose to the call. For 53 minutes they fought toe-to-toe with the New York Knicks, bringing the energy that had been so lacking so often before finally breaking through as a miss-fired three-pointer from Jalen Brunson allowed the Raptors to escape Madison Square Garden with a 123-121 overtime victory to bank the first win of this critical stretch away from home.
Scottie Barnes was stellar all evening. He flashed his playmaking over and over again, particularly in overtime, backing down the Knicks in the paint before whizzing a pass out to the weakside corner for O.G. Anunoby to put Toronto up three. Moments later he threw another kick-out pass, to find Pascal Siakam who swung it to Anunoby for another three, just his second three-pointer of the game. Then, with the game on the line, up three, he found Siakam again, threading the ball through New York's defense for an And-1 dunk to record his fourth assist, finishing the night with 26 points and seven rebounds.
Toronto almost let it slip away in the fourth. An ill-advised foul from Fred VanVleet on Brunson in a tied game nearly cost the Raptors, but Barnes responded with three free throws to put the Raptors up two. It should have been enough, but afraid to give up the three, Toronto left the lane wide open for R.J. Barrett to tie things up and force overtime.
The silly error from VanVleet was the lone slip-up in an otherwise spectacular 33-point performance from the 28-year-old. The back injury he dealt with coming into the day couldn't slow him down as he shook out of his prolonged shooting slump with some timely, tough, and occasionally extremely deep three-pointers. He nailed a 30-footer late in the second half to keep the Raptors' offense ticking and hit a crucial three-pointer off the dribble in the fourth after pump-faking Quentin Grimes off the ground.
When New York did step out to respect VanVleet's three-point range, he made them pay inside, nailing a pull-up mid-range jumper over Grimes to tie things up just minutes after finding Barnes for three on a beautiful kick-out pass from the free-throw line.
The energy was there early Monday afternoon. After a 6-0 start for the Knicks, Toronto came to life, whizzing the ball around the court and connecting on both ends. Barnes looked aggressive, bodying Julius Randle in the paint for a bucket. Later in the quarter, he blocked Brunson allowing VanVleet to scoop up the loose ball just before it bounced out of bounds, spurring Toronto's fastbreak and leading to a Gary Trent Jr. three-pointer in the corner.
VanVleet, who looked a little off with his shooting early in the quarter, beat New York's defense with a hesitation dribble in the paint to create a two-for-one opportunity for the Raptors just before the first expired.
The bench brought that same energy to start the second quarter. In the span of just seconds, Chris Boucher slid over to block a dunk attempt from Obi Toppin and then sprinted down the court for a put-back dunk when Juancho Hernangomez missed a layup. But Toronto's 10-point lead wouldn't last. An inability to box out on the defensive glass created far too many second-chance opportunities for New York as the Raptors' offense went silent for over five minutes without a made field goal.
Barnes' aggressiveness continued to open the third as he twice bullies the Knicks for buckets in the paint, using his size to overpower the undersized Brunson. When New York converged around him deep in the paint later in the quarter, he threw a beautiful skip pass over three defenders to find Trent for three.
Monday showed what the Raptors should look like when they're playing with energy. Even when the shots weren't falling for extended stretches or the defense slipped a tad, the hustle was there. Now it's about keeping that going and stringing together some high-energy games. Wins won't be easy on the road, but the effort can't waiver.
Up Next: Milwaukee Bucks
The Raptors will be right back at it Tuesday night when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 p.m. ET.
