Breaking: Barnes, who scored a career-high 35 points, echoed his coach’s sentiment, I think the Raptors are Motivated

The Toronto Raptors are becoming more effective in the fourth quarter, which is helping them secure wins.

In their 122-111 victory against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, Scottie Barnes scored seven points, RJ Barrett added six, and Jakob Poeltl contributed nine as Toronto outscored Indiana 29-27 in the final period. This marked the Raptors’ second straight win and their third in four games. “We’re starting to understand how to close out these games,” Barrett said. “We’ve also done a good job early on to build a lead, so even when other teams make a run, we’re still in a good position instead of faltering completely.” That was evident on Tuesday, as the Raptors enjoyed a 24-point lead, but the Pacers managed to narrow the gap in the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, pulling within a possession with less than seven minutes remaining. In response, Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic called a timeout to stabilize the team.

He was really calm during the timeout,” Barrett recalled. “He communicated what we needed to do, and we responded well.” Responding effectively wasn’t a strength for the Raptors earlier in the season. Eight of their 15 losses have come by six points or fewer, with five games being decided by just one possession. Rajakovic reminded his players during that crucial timeout to concentrate on one possession at a time. “We focused on our execution on both ends of the court,” Rajakovic said. “I felt our performance in the last four to five minutes was very strong.” Barnes, who achieved a career-high 35 points, concurred with his coach. “In that fourth quarter, we really locked in and got the crucial stops we needed,” he stated. “We were also better at avoiding fouls compared to the third quarter.

Barnes and Barrett have been an effective duo, managing playmaking duties while starting point guard Immanuel Quickley recovers from a partially torn UCL. Barrett finished with 29 points, just shy of scoring 30 or more for the fourth consecutive game at Scotiabank Arena. He smiled when discussing his partnership with Barnes. “Looks good, doesn’t it? I enjoy playing with Scottie,” Barrett said. “It’s really fun. We complement each other well and don’t interfere with each other’s play.