CLEVELAND (AP) — Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett did everything they could to try to get the Toronto Raptors into the Eastern Conference semifinals.
However, a couple of key injuries and a more veteran group ended the Raptors' first playoff trip in four years.
Barnes had 24 points and Barrett added 23 in the Raptors' 114-102 loss
to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night in Game 7 of their first-round series.Toronto was missing All-Star forward Brandon
Ingram to a bruised right heel for the second straight game. Point guard Immanuel Quickley missed the entire series because of sore right hamstring.
“We were down a couple of players and my team needed me out there," Barnes said. "That second group, those second-year guys (Jamal Shead and Ja'Kobe Walter) stepped up because were without starters in that series. I’m just proud that people got to see that because I know how good those guys are. I learned that in training camp, going against them every day.”
Shead, who started four games in the series, had 14 points in the first half, but was held scoreless after halftime. Walter, who started five games, scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half.
Barrett sent the series back to Cleveland for a deciding game on Friday night when his 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime hit off the back rim and bounced high above the backboard before going through the net to give the Raptors a 112-110 victory.
The Raptors got off to a fast start during the first half and grabbed a 41-31 lead with 6:33 remaining in the second quarter on a layup by Shead.
Things began to unravel when the Cavaliers closed the first half on a 11-2 run and tied it at 49.
That set the stage for the third quarter, when Cleveland took control and outscored Toronto 38-19 to seize control. The Raptors were 5 of 20 from the field and 1 of 7 from beyond the arc in the third.
“It felt like we had them. That’s what’s going to hurt. We definitely could have won this game and won this series,” said Barrett, who averaged 24.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in the series.
Cleveland also had more offensive rebounds (nine) than Toronto had total rebounds (eight) in the quarter.
Barnes said the disparity on the boards is what ended up hurting the Raptors the most.
“They worked harder than us in this game. They had 20 offensive rebounds. They had four guys crashing every play, even 5-10, 5-11 guys crashing the glass," he said. “They were scoring in transition, getting some offensive rebounds. The offensive rebounds were giving them extra possessions."
Barrett and coach Darko Rajakovic both lauded Barnes for his performance in the series. The fifth-year forward and two-time All-Star averaged 24.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists in the seven games.
“I think he (Scottie Barnes) shut up a lot of talk, and that’s good. That’s a winning player," Barrett said.
Rajakovic added about Barnes: “For the stage of his career, he gave it all. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but this is not the best version of Scottie we’re going to see. He’s going to be even better next season.”
The Raptors made the playoffs for the first time in four years. Barrett, Barnes and Ingram had postseason experience, but the rest of the group lacked it, which is why Rajakovic is hopeful his group can use this as motivation for next year.
“We don’t look at excuses. I think we created a culture that we were one of the hottest teams in the league," he said. “This season was an absolute success. I’m very proud. This is going to set us up for a lot of success in the future.”
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