Toronto — RJ Barrett Hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in overtime, and Toronto Raptors pushed their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series to a seventh game. cleveland cavaliers 112-110 on Friday night.
evan mobley Cleveland had a chance to win it, but his 3-point attempt hit the front of the rim.
scotty barnes Had 25 points and 14 assists, Barrett and Jacobe Walter Each scored 24 points and Colin Murray-Boyles Toronto added 17 points after taking an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Game 7 is Sunday at Cleveland. The home team has won all six matches so far in the series.
“That’s why you work so hard to get home-court advantage,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It’s the playoffs, that’s what it’s all about. We have to recover and get ready for Sunday’s game.”
The Raptors have yet to win in 10 playoff games in Cleveland, including game three in this series.
“We have to be ourselves,” Barnes said. “Do what we did tonight, play hard, make it difficult for every single guy on the field. It’s had an impact. Guys stepped up when we needed them. It’s going to impact everybody.”
Mobley had 26 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and james harden There were 16 for the Cavaliers. jarrett allen scored 14 points, and dean wade There were 10.
Harden shot 5 of 14 overall and 1 of 4 from 3-point range. He finished with nine rebounds and nine assists but also committed four turnovers.
Barrett’s decisive basket hit the back rim and bounced high over the backboard and came down to the roar of the sellout crowd of 19,919.
“Sometimes the basketball gods aren’t on your side,” Atkinson said.
Barrett’s high layup on the winning basket put Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic on edge.
Rajkovich said, “It was only half a second, but it felt like an eternity.” “I was happy for him, for this team, for this city that the shot missed.”
Barrett felt good about his chances as he saw the ball bounce high.
“I thought it was still good because it went straight up,” said Barrett, who became the first player in the play-by-play era (since 1997–98) to kick the winning field goal in the final seconds of overtime to avoid being eliminated in the playoffs. “When it goes straight up, you have a chance.”
For Mitchell, the friendly bounce was reminiscent of an even bigger playoff basket north of the border: Kawhi Leonard’s four-bounce, buzzer-beating winner against Philadelphia in Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals.
Rajakovic said he had a feeling even before the game that Barrett was going to be a big performer.
Rajakovic said, “Call me crazy, call me mental, but I saw it coming tonight.” “It’s unrealistic.”
Mitchell said the loss won’t change Cleveland’s focus for Sunday.
“Protect the home court,” Mitchell said. “It doesn’t matter if we lose by 30 or two, protect home court. That’s all you can do.”
Barnes had 14 points and 10 assists by halftime, making him the eighth NBA player since 1997 with 14 or more points and 10 or more assists in a half of a playoff game.
Cleveland finished with 18 turnovers, giving Toronto 25 points.
Raptor forward brandon ingram Did not play due to pain in right heel. Ingram walked in the second quarter 125-120 defeat on Wednesday In Cleveland.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
