RJ Barrett knocks down a 3 with 1.2 seconds remaining in OT to lift the Raptors past the Cavaliers, 112-110.
There’s nobody on this Raptors’ team that was there in 2019. But the building remembers. And Scotiabank Arena is one loud venue in moments like this.
Kawhi Leonard’s game-winning 3-pointer seven years ago bounced four times on the rim before settling through the net after the buzzer sounded. It didn’t quite save the Raptors’ season, because the score was tied when he let it go.
RJ Barrett’s game-winning 3-pointer on Friday only hit the rim twice, but that first bounce off the heel might have been 10 times higher. And it did save the Raptors’ season, turning a one-point deficit into a two-point, overtime victory that sent their first-round series with the Cleveland Cavaliers to Game 7 (Sun., 7:30 ET, NBC/Peacock).
The Raptors blew a 15-point, second-half lead, and things looked dire when Jamal Shead missed a free throw for the tie with 25.6 seconds left in the extra period. But Collin Murray-Boyles forced a Cleveland turnover, setting up Barrett’s miraculous shot. The Cavs still had 1.2 seconds left, but Evan Mobley’s 29-footer at the buzzer came up short.
Scottie Barnes filled the box score for Toronto, finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds, 14 assists, three steals and three blocks. Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter each added 24 points and Murray-Boyles had another big game (17 and seven, two steals and three blocks) off the bench.
Here are some notes, quotes, numbers and film as the series heads back to Cleveland:
1. It’s a make-or-miss league, Case No. 4,326
The Cavs were the better shooting team in the regular season. But this was the fourth game in the series that they shot below 33% from 3-point range. And it was the fourth time in the series that the Raptors shot better than 36%.
Dean Wade shot 39% on corner 3s in the regular season, but he missed three huge, uncontested corner 3s in the final 11 minutes. Donovan Mitchell was 2-for-10 from beyond the arc in Game 6, with one clean look rattling in and out with 41 seconds left in regulation.
Barrett shot less than 34% from 3-point range in the regular season, but he’s now 16-for-38 (42%) in the playoffs after the big bounce.
The Cavs are now 36-8 (.818) when they’ve shot the league average (36.0%) or better from 3-point range, but 19-25 (.432) when they’ve shot worse. And this series now includes two of their nine worst 3-point shooting games of the season. Meanwhile, the Raptors’ Game 3 win was their second best 3-point shooting performance in their 98 games total.
2. Murray-Boyles is a breakout star
While it’s a make-or-miss league, especially from beyond the arc, defense remains critical. The Raptors have themselves some terrific young defenders, and Murray-Boyles made some huge defensive plays on Friday.
Midway through the first quarter, he fought his way through a shoulder-screen from Mitchell, staying with Mobley on a baseline drive, and took the ball away from him under the basket, one of the Cavs’ 13 live-ball turnovers:
In the third quarter, he stole a James Harden inbounds pass and had an incredible block on a Jaylon Tyson 3-point attempt.
Then, as the Cavs scored just six points on their nine overtime possessions, the rookie made two more huge defensive plays.
On the Cavs’ first possession of the extra period, he switched onto Harden and shut down a late-clock isolation, forcing a tough shot:
Then came the biggest defensive play of the night. With the Cavs up one, the Raptors needed to foul. But they forced Dennis Schröder to give up the ball, and when Mobley caught it along the sideline, Murray-Boyles knocked it out of his hands and off his left knee:
Murray-Boyles has been coming off the bench, but he played almost 40 minutes on Friday. And the Raptors needed all of them. The rookie has made it clear that, while he’s undersized, he plays big, and he’ll be a franchise cornerstone going forward.
3. Cavs finally make the Raptors feel them
This was the Cavs’ worst defensive season in the last five, They were in the middle of the pack on that end of the floor team this season. And for the first three quarters of Game 6, they looked like a middle-of-the-pack defensive team — at best.
The Raptors were a middle-of-the-pack offensive team, and they were missing two of their best offensive players on Friday. But through 36 minutes, they had scored an efficient 92 points on 72 possessions (1.28 per).
The Cavs’ first defensive issue, of course was transition. They’ve now been outscored by 90 points (166-76) in transition over the six games, according to Synergy tracking.
They also gave Barnes the space to dribble into his comfort zone, and he beat them early and often with short jumpers, shooting 10-for-14 in the paint.
No matter who was in front of him, he felt little resistance:
The Cavs too often got scrambled and left guys open in the paint. And they were sometimes caught in no-man’s land, not putting any pressure on the ball, but not within reach of an open shooter.
But, trailing by 11 after the third quarter, they seemed to flip a switch in the fourth, when they held the Raptors to just 12 points on 21 possessions.
They applied more pressure, closed out harder and stayed in front of drives. They made timely and aggressive double-teams, and they offered more resistance when Barnes tried to back them down into the paint:
The Cavs still win this game if Barrett’s shot doesn’t miraculously bounce in. But they still waited too long to bring the proper defensive effort when they had a chance to end this series early.
Anything can happen in Game 7 and Cleveland can’t rely on its offense to book a trip to the conference semifinals. Making the Raptors feel them in the first quarter (and for 48 minutes) on Sunday would be preferable than waiting until the fourth.
4. Mobley plays big
Evan Mobley delivers 26 points for the Cavaliers in Game 6, including a shot that sends the game to OT.
For the second straight game, Mobley made three 3-pointers, one of them in the clutch to put the Cavs within one with less than two minutes left in regulation. More important is that he was 6-for-6 in the restricted area, playing big.
He rolled to the rim, he backed down and posted up smaller defenders. He grabbed offensive boards.
And when the Cavs needed one bucket to complete their fourth-quarter comeback, Mobley took Murray-Boyles to the rim:
The Raptors have been defending Mobley with smaller guys, and he’s now doing a better job of making them pay. After scoring just 23 points in Games 3 and 4 of this series, he’s totaled 49 over Games 5 and 6. He’s now shooting 29-for-34 (85%) in the restricted area in the series.
And he’ll have another opportunity to play big on Sunday.
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John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Bluesky.
