"I'll take the shot again": Barrett has no regrets on missed Raptors shot
RJ Barrett’s chance at a storybook ending for the Toronto Raptors’ contest on Monday night didn’t quite come to fruition.
Though Toronto held the led throughout much of the contest — including up until 0.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter before Kitchener native Jamal Murray tied things up — the Raptors fell 127-125 in overtime to the visiting Denver Nuggets, who picked up their first victory of the season.
And it was Barrett, back in his first game of the season after missing the first three due to injury, who had the chance to score a potential game-winner in the waning minutes of overtime.
In the final possession of overtime after a few back-and-forth sequences and Toronto down two, Barrett saw the chance to play hero. Instead of opting for a drive or looking to pass it to a teammate, Barrett pulled up from beyond the three-point line with about five seconds left in overtime.
A pair of rebound attempts from Ochai Agbaji and Jakob Poeltl were unable to be put into the basket, with the Raptors ultimately coming up scoreless in a chance to extend or win the game.
“If I took it to the net, I might’ve got the shot blocked,” Barrett told reporters postgame. “I’m comfortable with that shot, that’s just who I am. That’s who I’ve always been. I’ll take the shot again. That’s who RJ Barrett is.”
Barrett played just 29 minutes on the night, the least among Toronto’s starters.
“I was good. Just haven’t played in three weeks. So just trying to find my way back into it,” he added.
Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic also didn’t seem to have many issues with his players’ confidence after he opted to let them play for the win.
“I trust RJ, I trust his judgment there,” Rajakovic said. “[My thoughts were] do I call a timeout or try to run a flow after a defensive rebound there?”
Meanwhile, Nuggets centre and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic put up 40 points across five periods to lead all scorers on the night.
“Great person, you can you see how he’s motivating his players,” Jokic said of fellow Serbian Rajakovic. “I think there is a great future for the Toronto organization.”
The Raptors next travel to Charlotte ahead of Wednesday night’s contest with the Hornets.
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