A midweek Raptors game featuring the home team playing the back end of a back-to-back against a red-hot Phoenix Suns team that welcomed the return of Kevin Durant.
Only on this occasion, the outcome wouldn’t be decided until the end, which pretty much has characterized so many of Toronto’s tips.
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While not all eyes were on Scottie Barnes, more than a few were paying close attention to how the third-year player would respond to a recent slate of poor shooting nights.
To his credit, he never forced his offence.
When he did, it came in the game’s final minute when he turned to hero ball by trying to take Durant off the dribble from the right wing.
Barnes didn’t match Durant in scoring, but he nonetheless impacted the game on both ends of the court.
He made a three-pointer in the fateful fourth quarter, his first and only make from distance of the game.
He made his three fourth-quarter free throws, including two with under 15 seconds remaining.
Barnes wasn’t great, but he was pretty darn good in the fourth quarter in helping the Raptors eclipse the Suns 112-105 in a pretty compelling night of basketball that would snap Toronto’s two-game losing skid.
Durant’s 30 points led all scorers, while Barnes led the Raptors by netting 23, including 12 in the fourth period.
Durant used the Suns’ final game on their three-game trip to make his return from a right foot contusion. He spent about 25 minutes prior to tipoff stretching out his foot and getting off jumpers from different spots on the floor. During his pre-game routine, Durant may have missed one shot.
While it wasn’t as electric as a Steph Curry warm-up session, Durant did showcase an ingenuous pivot move from the foul line to test his foot.
He would simulate coming off pin downs, executing fadeaways along the baseline, pulling up on dribbles or simply draining free throw after free throw from the line.
Not surprisingly, on his first field-goal attempt of the game, Durant drilled a straight-away three-pointer.
Looking on from his courtside seat was friend Drake.
As for the rest of the Suns, they didn’t exactly match Toronto’s intensity level.
The night previous, the Raptors caved down the stretch in a one-possession game in Brooklyn. They didn’t arrive home until the very late hours following an issue with their chartered plane.
In contrast, the Suns, who last played in New York against the Knicks, spent the entire day Tuesday in Toronto.
Barnes is no K.D., which is by no means a knock on Barnes because there are very few in Durant’s sphere.
Barnes entered the night in the throes of a shooting funk in which he went a combined 15-of-44 from the field in his past three games.
His first half against the Suns was pretty understated to the point of pedestrian.
Fortunately for the Raptors, they didn’t need Barnes to be at his best.
Mind you, even an average Barnes is acceptable when players around him are playing well.
Three Toronto starters not named Barnes reached double digits in scoring in the opening 24 minutes, an opening half that would see the home side holding a 60-53 advantage.
For a change, the Raptors made their free throws and had only four turnovers, including just one in the game’s opening quarter.
Toronto began the night by recording eight assists on 11 made baskets.
By the break, the Raptors produced a 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which underscored the level of Toronto’s efficiency.
Leading the way at halftime was Dennis Schroder, who recorded nine assists, while not turning the ball over a single time.
Barnes didn’t commit a single turnover, and on both trips to the line, Barnes converted. He would record a block, but Barnes took only four shots. His one and only make came on a driving dunk.
No starter, including Barnes, was on the floor in excess of 18 minutes as 10 players were used in the back end of a back-to-back.
Every starter had a positive plus-minus rating.
For a team that suffered tough losses in Cleveland and Brooklyn and then was forced to deal with a travel issue, credit the Raptors for summoning some of their best basketball against a quality team such as the Suns.
As hot as Phoenix has been entering the night, even hotter has been the play of Devin Booker, who can flat-out score similar to K.D.’s prowess in producing points.
In the first half, the Raptors held Booker to six points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Toronto ended the half with a plus-9 from beyond the arc.
The second half began with OG Anunoby guarding Durant.
Barnes, offensively speaking, was a bit too passive. He wasn’t alone, as the Raptors began to lose their cohesion and level of execution.
They caught a break when an open three that would have tied the game was missed by Phoenix, but the game was turning in favour of the Suns. A Durant basket on a second-chance opportunity pulled Phoenix within one, and then the visitors then took the lead on a made three-pointer.
Barnes returned to the game with the teams tied, 74-74, and immediately found Gary Trent Jr., who buried his look from distance to help Toronto regain the lead.
A left-handed Barnes bank shot gave the Raptors a five-point lead.
On Phoenix’s final possession in the third quarter, Barnes was on Booker.
Barnes then blocked an Eric Gordon layup attempt, prompting Suns head coach Frank Vogel to cry foul only to get teed up as Toronto led 86-80 going into the final quarter.