TORONTO — There were less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when the Cleveland Cavaliers had taken an 84-76 lead.
In a rock fight of a game where both teams shot under 40 per cent, that lead almost felt insurmountable. According to ESPN’s win probability, Cleveland had a 91.7 percent chance of winning at that stage. Given this is a young Raptors team with limited playoff experience going up against a Cavs team with plenty of it as well as championship expectations, it should have been an open and shut case on who would win the game from that point on.
Yet, led by another Herculean effort from their 24-year-old superstar Scottie Barnes, a gritty 25-year-old local from the suburbs of Mississauga, Ont., in RJ Barrett, and a 20-year-old smiling, bullying assassin in Collin Murray-Boyles, the Raptors closed the game on a 17-5 run to claim a crucial 93-89 win in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon.
Toronto now heads to Cleveland with the series tied at two games apiece, possibly having shaken up the likes of superstars James Harden and Donovan Mitchell.
“It’s nothing to do with the playoffs or this playoff run,” head coach Darko Rajaković said on how his team has found another gear. “It’s the chemistry those guys are building all year round, in the off-season, in training camp, in the honest conversations we have with each other, the hard conversations we have with each other.
“All of that matters. All of this is part of the journey, all of this is part of the bigger picture. Our guys staying together through ups and downs is something that’s special to this team.”
This was a game that will not be remembered for its aesthetics, but for the manner in which the Raptors willed themselves to victory. There’s little that sums up the victory more than the fact they won this game despite shooting 4-for-30 (13.3 per cent) from three, which is the lowest percentage to win a playoff game since the NBA introduced the three-point line (minimum of 25 team attempts).
In those final five minutes where the Raptors conceded just five points and stole victory from the jaws of defeat, they forced five misses on six field goal attempts before the play of the night from Jamal Shead with 40 seconds. The second-year point guard dove like Superman to knock away the ball from Mitchell’s hands and force an eight-second backcourt violation.
With the Raptors trailing by one at that stage, Barnes got to the free-throw line and knocked down a pair and they never looked back.
Highlighting the resilience of Toronto’s young players, Shead went 1-for-6 from the field but had four rebounds, four assists and played legitimately great defence battling Harden and Mitchell. Ja’Kobe Walter had a nightmare offensive night missing all eight of his three-point attempts but corralled seven rebounds and used his pick-pocket hands to nab three steals while doing a stellar job against Mitchell, who shot 6-for-24.
Murray-Boyles did have enough going for him offensively with 15 points, but it was once again his work defensively that stood out. Whether it was against what’s supposed to be an imposing Cleveland frontline in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley or getting switched onto Harden or Mitchell, he’s showcased how impactful he can be on the biggest stage. Rookie, shmookie.
“We have a variety of leaders in all different areas,” Murray-Boyles said of what raises the chemistry level of this team. “I feel like that’s the biggest advantage that we have, is just having everybody that wants to lead, all the older guys, some guys have been through this moment so they know what to expect, the type of energy it takes, the type of effort, preaching that to everybody else.
“We have a really young team so just having everybody able to impact with their words is big time for us.”
No one wants to look back on the shooting quality in this game but among the things that will be remembered is Barnes continuing to ascend under the bright lights. He finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three blocks and a steal. His energy over 42 minutes on both ends of the floor was unbelievable, virtually willing his team to victory and knocking down six clutch free throws in the final minute to close the deal.
This postseason was going to present a lot of intriguing questions about how the Raptors’ current pieces fit, whether Barnes could be a true face of the franchise being among the most important. He’s continued his all-world defence from the regular season, taking the primary assignment against Harden and forcing him into six first-half turnovers after Harden had eight in Game 3.
Whenever Cleveland got him switched away from Harden, Barnes still showed enough help to force the ball out of the former MVP’s hands and then scrambled back to contest his man’s shot. On top of the sensational defence, he scored 20-plus points for a fourth consecutive playoff game and had ice in his veins for those crucial free-throws at the end.
In a series that includes Harden and Mitchell, Barnes is now looking like the best player.
“I’m just trying to win basketball games, I think that’s what makes me better,” said Barnes. “Trying to do whatever it takes to go out there and win basketball games. I feel like, being a winner, just trying to win, making that effort, making that extra effort, trying to do more than what I can do.
“It only pushes you and makes you grow.”
Brandon Ingram, the team’s leading scorer in the regular season, finally provided some reason to smile in this one. Despite a horrid 6-for-23 shooting night, he provided a crucial lift at the end of the first half with eight points as part of a 10-0 run that gave the Raptors a 38-36 lead to close the half.
He worked his way to the free-throw line more in the second half, finishing the night by going 8-for-9. Then with the Raptors trailing 84-79 with under three minutes remaining, he knocked down a massive triple that cut the Cavs’ lead to two.
While the expectation was the Ingram and Barnes would lead the Raptors as the two all-stars on the team, it’s Barrett who has stepped up through Ingram’s struggles. He finished with 18 points in this contest including a big time bully drive late in the game for two of his 11 fourth quarter points. He is now the leading scorer in the fourth quarter for these NBA playoffs.
On a night where nothing was falling, everyone found a way to give something.
There is no question the Raptors are growing. So much was made of the Raptors’ 5-22 record against the top 10 teams in the league. All of that is being put to the wayside now as they show a level of heart and toughness that is usually expected of teams with twice the experience and expectations.
Now the Cavs have got themselves into a dangerous corner, up against a young team whose whole is so clearly greater than the sum of its parts and playing with house money. They’ve got an NBA rookie head coach that’s absolutely coaching his butt off, too.
Barnes said “that sh*t don’t matter” when asked about being heavy underdogs coming into this series. On this Sunday afternoon, they showed how much character and resilience does.