RJ Barrett made his regular-season debut against the Denver Nuggets after returning from a shoulder injury.
Barrett was aggressive early and scored 20 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Raptors were down two when Jakob Poeltl secured a defensive rebound with 9.1 seconds left in overtime. Poeltl made an outlet pass to Barrett who got down the court and pulled up for a three-point shot but it rimmed out.
If Barrett had made the three pointer it would have likely given him the game-winning shot and it would have been the perfect end to his first game in three weeks. Barrett said he felt like someone was running behind him a he crossed half-court so he didn’t want to drive and have his shot blocked.
“I’m comfortable taking that shot. I’m happy with the shot I took. That’s just who I am, that’s who I’ve always been. I’ll take that shot again. That’s just who RJ Barrett is,” Barrett told reporters.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic said he was happy to push in transition rather than resetting with a timeout. He said he thought Barrett could have gotten to the rim but he trusts his judgement there.
Despite the miss, Barrett had a solid game. He was getting downhill and driving to the basket. He pointed out that he got to the rim 15-16 times but didn’t get a whistle.
“And I didn’t get any free throws. Crazy, right?” the 24-year-old said.
Barrett said it was fun to get back out there and play after being out for the start of the season.
And how did his shoulder feel? “I’ll know in the morning,” he said.
Barrett and the Raptors will travel to Charlotte to take on the Hornets on Oct. 30.
Raptors lose heartbreaker to Nuggets
The Toronto Raptors fought hard and outplayed the Denver Nuggets through 3 and a half quarter, but fell short in overtime 127-125.
It appeared the Raptors were going to pick up a massive win over the Nuggets, but they couldn’t hold on.
The Nuggets closed out regulation on a 13-3 run and the Raptors did not score a basket in the final 2:17 of the fourth quarter.
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