Last night was a joyous occasion in Scotiabank Arena. The Raptors donned their city edition jerseys which also came with a court redesign for the night which featured beautiful hardwood and the iconic Vince Carter dunk in Raptor form at center court. Scottie Barnes made his return from his orbital fracture injury, sporting some protective goggles and most importantly, Toronto won 110-105 over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Another huge night from RJ Barrett, Barnes’ impact was felt throughout the game, Boucher gave some extra punch off the bench, the defense played well, all in all a great night.
It was a somewhat chaotic game all for most of its duration, both teams were having issues with turnovers, posting 17 each. Some of these turnovers were defenders making great plays such as Jaden McDaniels shooting into the passing lane for steals, and others were the result of pure overzealousness. With Barnes’ return the pace that Toronto played with appeared to be quicker, his playmaking and energy was infectious. In the opening moments of the game he pushed in transition and found Gradey Dick for a wide open layup, his pick n’ roll synergy with Jakob Poetl was a welcome sight. Perfect pocket passes from Barnes empowered Poetl on some of his dives to the rim and got him some good looks. Barnes’ impact on the defensive end was felt as well, his size and length often served as a logjam for the actions that Minnesota wanted to run. Barnes being in the gaps deterred players like Anthony Edwards from fully taking advantage of their matchups.
Toronto’s defense all night did well rotating and being physical, they didn’t allow Julius Randle to brutalize them again, they didn’t allow Rudy Gobert’s size to trouble them, and there seemed to be some extra attention to detail on that end. Sharp, controlled closeouts, hedging and recovering on pick n’ rolls, Toronto’s defense did well.
Chris Boucher chipped in big time last night as he finished with 22 points of his own. Boucher has a way of impacting the game by just being in the right spots, and just bringing great energy off the bench. Possession looking bleak and shot clock running down? Boucher is there for a three. Game lagging and you need something to get the crowd into it? Boucher is there for a fast break dunk. Boucher hit a huge three to tie the game in the 4th, and was instrumental in the win over Minnesota.
Barrett was the star of the night as he finished with 31 points. There was nothing unsustainable about Barrett’s scoring last night, it wasn’t the result of a hot night from behind the arc, it was his usual brand of basketball, getting to the rim and reaping the rewards. All but one of Barrett’s field goals were in the paint and as a result of all his driving and aggressiveness he earned 12 free throws, which he made 10 of. Barrett scored at the rim in many ways, curling off of pin downs, grab and go in transition, simple pick n’ roll usage, putting his back to the basket, he never let up on Minnesota’s defense.
This game was not pretty by any means, but Toronto doesn’t need games, or wins to be pretty. There were many positive signs last night and it is always nice to get a win, but to get a win over one of the better teams in the NBA, and it be hardfought has to be a serious morale and confidence booster for the team. Nights like last night for a rebuilding team are special, and should always be cherished.
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