The Raptors are on Fire

"He rejected a screen from Barrett, bulldozed his way straight into Charlotte's waiting big, and threw a one-handed dunk into his teeth. Then the blocks. My god the blocks. Heroic, outrageous, silly. Clutch, audacious. With seconds remaining, Ingram slunk into the paint for a game-saving help block from behind, his third of the game. Barnes topped him with zero on the clock with a real game-saving block on an offensive rebound from Charlotte. Both swats preserved the two-point lead."

"Just prior to those preposterous blocks came the third Barnes post-up that defined Toronto's game. Barnes tied the game with a minute left on a post-up, half-spinning into a two-hand dunk through his defender's body. The team was playing tired and slow, but Barnes knew he was the biggest and the strongest player on the floor. Good teams win in different ways."

Toronto eked out a narrow win through dramatic late-game defense and physical post play. Brandon Ingram supplied 27 points, varied mid-range scoring, and multiple blocks, including a clutch help block in the final seconds. Scottie Barnes delivered defining post-ups, a game-tying dunk, and a last-second block to preserve the lead. The team battled fatigue and slowness but relied on Barnes' physical dominance and leadership. Defensive intensity and individual heroics have propelled the Raptors up the standings, placing them tied for third in the Eastern Conference early in the season.

Read at Raptors Republic