Scottie Barnes took a nasty elbow from Nikola Jokic.
The Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets were battling hard late in the fourth quarter.
As Denver was mounting a big comeback, Jokic inadvertently hit Barnes in the right eye as he tried to get a rebound:
Jokic with the elbow on Scottie Barnes pic.twitter.com/6AR8cBNVBO
— Tedd Buddwell 🏀🏈 (@TedBuddy8) October 29, 2024
The blow to Barnes’ face caused him to stay down for the ensuing defensive possession. Barnes was shaken up and was in visible discomfort. He was helped to the Raptors bench and received medical attention before heading to the locker room. Barnes did not return to the game.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic said postgame that Barnes is still being evaluated by the medical staff and there is no update.
The injury overshadowed an incredible outing from Barnes. He had scored 21 points to go along with 12 rebounds, 9 assists and a career-high 5 steals.
This is another injury added to the long list the Raptors have had to start their season. Toronto just got back RJ Barrett who made his season debut after suffering an AC joint sprain in the preseason. However, the team is still without Immanuel Quickley who continues to be sidelined with a bruised pelvis. Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk remain sidelined as well.
If this injury forces Barnes to miss time, the Raptors will likely turn to Ochai Agbaji once again who started in place of Barrett while he was out.
Raptors lose heartbreaker to Nuggets
The 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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