The Raptors keep finding ways to put Barnes in mismatches and against a Nuggets team as shallow as this one seems to be, Denver had no answers. He repeatedly backed down smaller defenders, getting to his post-up shimmy for turnaround floaters, scoring 16 of his points 21 points Monday night in the paint.
It was a Barnes kick-out pass out of a pick-and-roll with Jakob Poeltl to Gradey Dick that stuck Toronto to a nine-point lead midway through the fourth. He followed it up moments later with a full-court alley-oop he threw with pin-point accuracy to Ochai Agbaji and then capped off his stellar fourth-quarter run with a LeBron James-esque transition block on Christian Braun.
A Barnes three-pointer over Braun with two minutes to go gave Toronto the 10-point lead, but Denver wouldn’t go away. The Nuggets managed to erase it all in the final minutes, taking advantage of a layup from Jamal Murray to force overtime.
“He’s a big tall guy who can handle the ball, who is for seeking mismatches, who can put the ball downhill, who is finding open teammates, who can post-up, he can play in the mid-range, he can ISO,” Nikola Jokic said of Barnes. “He’s a really good player.”
When Denver sent help at Barnes, the All-Star forward showed off his playmaking prowess. He threw a mind-boggling no-look bounce pass to Ochai Agbaji cutting in from the corner for an impressive slam in the third quarter that put the Raptors up 11 after Denver had trimmed Toronto’s lead to just five minutes earlier. It was the second of two no-look passes Barnes threw after connecting with Mogbo on a no-look feed in transition in the second.
Barnes recorded a career-high five steals Monday including a fourth-quarter steal off Aaron Gordon, taking the ball the other way in transition before being fouled by Russell Westbrook in what was deemed to have been a flagrant. The moment sparked a brief skirmish that resulted in a double technical as Barnes and Gordon had to be separated after some pushing and shoving.
“Scottie defended himself as he should,” RJ Barrett said. “I was right there with my one good shoulder. But yeah, we don’t back down from anybody. So it’s good to see that.”
A stellar night from Barnes was only marred by an injury he sustained in the final minute when Jokic inadvertently hit Barnes in the right eye with an elbow trying to grab a defensive rebound. Barnes stayed down during the ensuing possession and had to be taken to the locker room.
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