Scottie Barnes shined in the Toronto Raptors win over the Phoenix Suns.
Barnes got off to a slow start in the first half as he scored just 4 points on 1-4 shooting. However, he turned it up a notch in the second half scoring 19 points on 6-11 shooting.
Barnes was great in the fourth quarter as he scored 12 points.
Overall, Barnes finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks on 7-15 shooting from the field and 8-8 from the free throw line. He was +14 in a team-high 38 minutes of action.
Barnes’ presence was felt all over the court in the second half, especially on the defensive end.
He played solid defence on Suns all-stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
After the game Durant had some high praise for Barnes:
I asked Kevin Durant how Scottie Barnes is growing as a player:
Says he’s getting “more comfortable” as “Darko is trusting him to bring the ball up the court, play point forward, and he’s shooting threes at a high right now. So sky’s the limit for him” pic.twitter.com/BlVGujMNx6
— Bryan Meler (@BryanMeler) November 30, 2023
This wasn’t the first time Durant praised Barnes. He spoke highly about Barnes back in his rookie season:
“What’s more rare about Scottie Barnes is his IQ for the game, his length and his enthusiasm for the game. All of that stuff shines bright when you watch him play.”
After a couple of poor outings in a row it was encouraging to see Barnes get back on track in a big way. Barnes turned it up a notch when he needed to and got his own offense going while orchestrating for his teammates.
When Barnes plays at this high of a level, the sky is truly the limit for him.
Raptors take on Knicks
The Raptors will soak up this win and then they will take on the New York Knicks on Dec. 1. This is the first meeting between the two teams since the Knicks sued the Raptors this past summer.
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