NEW YORK — Fred VanVleet scored 33 points, Scottie Barnes added 26 and the Toronto Raptors recovered from an RJ Barrett tying field goal with 0.6 seconds left in regulation to earn a 123-121 win , in overtime, against the New York Knicks on Monday.
After a missed free throw from Barnes, Barrett ran all over the court before netting a dunk at the very end.
“It didn’t matter. Our mentality remained ‘we keep fighting’, Barnes said. We focused on our desire to win the match.
Pascal Siakam contributed to this victory with harvests of 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, but he found himself on the players’ bench for accumulation of personal faults.
“We didn’t give up and we played well collectively,” said VanVleet.
The Raptors had to wait for Jalen Brunson’s failed attempt from the three-point area before celebrating their victory.
During the extra period, OG Anunoby had two three-pointers that gave the Raptors a six-point lead. However, the Knicks nearly erased that deficit during the last minute of play.
Anunoby had been quiet in regulation with 10 points, including a two-for-seven record in continuous play.
The NBA leader in robberies, he added three thefts to his record.
Toronto also stood out with 12 blocks, compared to five for New Yorkers.
Gary Trent added 18 points, including a four-for-eight record on 3-point shooting.
The Raptors (20-24) are in 11th place in the East. The Chicago Bulls have the same record, but they sit in 10th place.
Their record against each other is 1-1. The deadlock is therefore the yield in the East: that of the Bulls is 16-13, that of the Raptors 14-17.
Nick Nurse’s club will play again on Tuesday in Milwaukee.
Barrett, who is from Toronto, had 32 points for the Knicks, who had won their previous three games. Brunson added 26 points.
