‘A lot of people need to put a lot more respect on his name’ Scottie Barnes has epic game

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The Toronto Raptors have been around for over three decades now, yet one of the greatest performances in franchise history came Sunday.

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Scottie Barnes didn’t look to score much early against the visiting Golden State Warriors, in fact he only had two points in the first quarter, but he foreshadowed what might be coming with eight rebounds and five assists in his first nine minutes.

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In the end, Barnes became the only player other than three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and two-time Finals MVP Hakeem Olajuwon to score at least 20 points and grab 25 rebounds in a triple-double over the last 40 seasons and tied Toronto’s mark with 25 boards in a game, joining Bismack Biyombo. He also matched Chris Bosh and Popeye Jones as the only Raptors with 20 points and 20 rebounds in the same game and out-rebounded the five Warriors starters on his own.

Not bad.

Barnes was everywhere in the fourth quarter as the Raptors made a big push, grabbing five boards, and was even more dominant in overtime as Toronto ran away with the game, hauling in six more.

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Afterward, his teammates and head coach could only marvel.

Top defensive player

“I think it’s crazy that Scottie Barnes is not top 10 in defensive player, Top 5 in Defensive Player of the Year voting,” Jamal Shead told the Toronto Sun.

“And it’s crazy Scottie is not Top 5 in all-star voting. I think it’s crazy Scottie’s not more recognized than he should be,” Shead continued in an impassioned call for league-wide recognition of the former rookie of the year’s season.

“I think Scottie Barnes has led us to, what are we, top five defence in the league right now? We’re not there without him. So I think a lot of people need to put a lot more respect on his name,” Shead said.

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“Amazing grit from the whole group and Scottie was leading that with rebounding effort, leading with playmaking, leading with defence,” said Darko Rajakovic. “He was really, really high level today. It was (an) impressive performance, and I’m looking forward to watch film tonight again, and enjoy that.”

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Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, who scored 39 points but was hounded at times by Barnes covering so much ground as a help defender, tipped his cap to him.

High praise from Curry

“He’s a huge presence out there, and he’s a great playmaker, even if it’s kind of untraditional, so he takes advantage of mismatches,” Curry said. “He got them extra possessions all night, nine offensive rebounds by himself. He was just relentless on the boards,” Curry said.

RJ Barrett, back after a 15-game absence, also praised Barnes. “He’s active. Man, it’s all hustle,” Barrett said.

Barnes said he always tries to hit the glass hard, but with the team down starting centre Jakob Poeltl and backup big man Collin Murray-Boyles, he had to give even more.

“I’ve just got a different role. I’m playing the five. Trying to figure out different ways to orchestrate the offence and still be aggressive,” Barnes said. “Just trying to find those ways, when to screen, when to be out of the way, when to be in the dunker (spot), find ways to still playmaker, how I can still attack the game and still (have) my aggression … Just trying to do whatever it takes to win.”

Mission accomplished.

@WolstatSun

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