Raptors Film Room: RJ Barrett Makes Season Debut Against Nuggets
What a game.
The Toronto Raptors finally received some good news: RJ Barrett is back in the lineup.
The bad news? Scottie Barnes might be out of it for a little bit. (More on that later).
Barrett started alongside Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Gradey Dick, and Davion Mitchell, who is stepping up in place of the injured Immanuel Quickley. Ochai Agbaji shifted over to the bench after an impressive three-game run as a starter.
The Raptors took advantage of a struggling Nuggets team out of the gate, taking a 62-54 lead at halftime. Barrett set the tone early, scoring 7 of the Raptors’ first 9 points in 5 minutes of action and getting point touches at will.
Toronto’s bench kept things rolling. Agbaji, Jamal Shead, Jonathan Mogbo, and Chris Boucher combined for 19 points in the first half, and the Raptors dominated on the inside, outscoring the Nuggets in the paint by 14.
Barnes had a really impressive first half, putting up 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in 17 minutes, and finished the game with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and five steals. Barnes had to leave the game in the dying seconds of the 4th quarter after he got an inadvertent elbow to the eye from Nikola Jokic.
Despite an abysmal game from the Nuggets bench, Jokic willed the team to a comeback, dropping 40 points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career and carving up the Raptors defense to send it into overtime. Jamal Murray hit the game-tying bucket in the fourth on a reverse layup, as well.
In OT, despite some clutch shots from Barrett and Davion Mitchell — the Raptors fell to the Nuggets 127 to 125. Somewhat controversially, the Raptors opted not to take a timeout on the final possession, and it resulted in Barrett hoisting up a three to try and win it, but it fell short.
Barrett finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes in his first game back.
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