After squandering an 11-point lead going into the fourth quarter, the Toronto Raptors looked like they were heading for a season-ending overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of their first-round series on Friday night.
However, there’s something magical about the rim on the home side of the court in Scotiabank Arena. On the same basket where Kawhi Leonard’s infamous four-bounce shot stunned the 76ers in 2019, RJ Barrett — with his team trailing 110-109 — had a prayer answered in the closing seconds as his 3-pointer caromed high off the rim and dropped straight through the net for the go-ahead shot with 1.2 seconds to play.
It was an eerily similar bounce to the one Tyrese Haliburton got in Game 1 of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks to force overtime in Game 1 of that series. Haliburton certainly noticed.
Barrett and the Raptors will hope this stroke of luck can be a springboard to a similar stunning run through the East.
Barrett’s shot came after a bizarre sequence for the Cavs, who had a chance to ice the game in the closing seconds. Cleveland inbounded the ball with 18 seconds to play to Dennis Schröder, who struggled but eventually got the ball across halfcourt before throwing an ill-advised pass to Evan Mobley on the sideline. Mobley had the ball knocked off him and out of bounds with 10 seconds to play, giving Toronto and Barrett the opportunity to hit the game-winner to force a Game 7.
Now the series shifts back to Cleveland, where the Cavs will try to continue the streak of the home team winning every game in this series. To do so, Cleveland will not only have to shake off the pain of watching a chance to close things out go away on that Barrett 3-pointer but will also need to overcome their recent history of playoff disappointment.
