Scottie Barnes Breaks Out of Funk While O.G. Anunoby Leads Raptors to Victory Over Heat

The Toronto Raptors rode a 32-point showing from O.G. Anunoby to a victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Nurse could have buried Scottie Barnes, ridiculed him for his lackluster play of late, and tried to send a message to the reigning Rookie of the Year. Frankly, it wouldn't have been entirely uncharacteristic for a coach who has a track record of publicly calling out struggling players. Just asked Precious Achiuwa or Chris Boucher.

But sometimes, coaching requires a more gentle touch.

"I think he's playing really well," Nurse said Wednesday evening. "Love him, man. I think he's playing great."

Maybe it was foreshadowing. Against the Miami Heat, Barnes did play great. He played with that joy again, the kind Nurse had been looking for. When Toronto needed a bucket late, it was Barnes who found himself with the ball in his hands, making the savvy pass to the corner to find Chris Boucher for the game-clinching three-pointer in a 112-104 victory.

Barnes acknowledged his shooting funk, the first extended rut of his NBA career. He said it helped having Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet checking in on him, encouraging him to stay aggressive and keep shooting.

"I feel like it’s a big thing," Barnes said. "I really took that to heart, them boys texting me when they’re at home doing what they do to get better, them telling me, I feel like that’s a big thing."

Against the Heat, Barnes did look aggressive, opening the game with a barrage of mid-range jumpers, the kind he's been struggling so mightily with lately. He connected on a pair early in the shot clock, first over Jimmy Butler and then over Kyle Lowry. A miraculous off-balanced three-pointer in the dying seconds of the shot clock got him to nine points in the first quarter before that dreaded passiveness set in as he failed to attempt a single shot in the second quarter.

"He came out feeling good about his jump shot obviously and they were giving him space," Nurse said. 

Nurse traditionally hasn't been a fan of mid-range shots, preferring more efficient looks at the rim or behind the arc, but he didn't complain post-game about Barnes' shot selection.

"I want him to have some freedom to be aggressive," Nurse said. "When he’s feeling good like that and hit one or two, you’re going to probably let him go on those. If he doesn’t hit them, he probably needs to attack the paint or do something else but I’m OK. I’m glad he came out aggressive."

Barnes began attacking in the second half, putting his shoulder into Caleb Martin before flipping in a floater to open the third quarter. He did the same in the fourth, driving past Martin for another bucket deep in the paint.

"First thing is taking on the challenge, you can see that I’m in the middle of a shooting slump, I realize, I recognize that, but, just trying to stay confident, get through it," Barnes said. "Trust your work, trust your craft, I feel like that’s what’s gonna get me through it every single day."

Barnes is going to go through ruts this season, next season, and for however long he plays in the NBA. It happened last year too, even in his Rookie of the Year campaign. The key is responding to them and dealing with that pressure because, as the adage goes, develop is never linear.

"Everybody goes through it," VanVleet said of Barnes who finished the night with 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists. "There's highs, there's lows, there's good games and bad games. He's finding his way and he's got to continue to keep working and keep playing. Nobody around here is worried about him. We know how great of a player he's going to be. There's not any young player I would trade him for. The sky's the limit for him."

Take O.G. Anunoby's story, for example. It wasn't long ago that the 25-year-old could barely dribble without fumbling the ball on the move. Any progress he'd made over the years always seemed stunted by an injury. These days, though, that's finally beginning to change.

Anunoby was the offensive engine for the Raptors, creating buckets for himself off the dribble and in the mid-range. At one point he beat Miami's press defense, taking it up the court himself before finding Khem Brich with a dump-off pass in the paint. He later nailed a trio of fallaway mid-range jumpers, the kind of shot he rarely attempted just a year or two ago.

"I think he was doing a lot of euro stepping and trying to avoid (contact), and I think he's just going in there and gotten big and strong and I think it's enabled him to get clearance," Nurse said of Anunoby.

Anunoby and VanVleet almost singlehandedly led the Raptors on a 21-0 run in the third quarter, flipping a 70-59 Heat lead into a 80-70 Raptors lead before Heat coach Erik Spoelstra finally called a timeout. VanVleet turned around a disappointing 3-for-10 first half, with 13 of his 23 points in the third quarter alone.

"he's been incredible. It's great to see and just keep encouraging them and keep pumping him with confidence, we're gonna need that for the rest of the year," VanVleet said of Anunoby. 

The Raptors forward finished the night with a season-high 32 points on 13-for-18 shooting, with 10 rebounds, and three including a clutch feed to Chris Boucher with two minutes to go to keep the Raptors up five.

Lowry Pesky as Always

Kyle Lowry hasn't changed at all since leaving the Raptors.

He began Wednesday night with the first bucket of the game, a classic Lowry pull-up three and ended the night unsurprisingly the lone Heat player with a positive plus-minus.

"There’s nothing he could do to frustrate me," VanVleet said of his former teammate. "It’s annoying when he tricks the refs but other than that, it’s just fun watching him do what he does. I thought he was old three years ago, to see him still kicking and making an impact and putting pressure on the defence, you could just see the greatness in him."

Lowry finished the night with 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting with two assists.

Injury Report

Just when things couldn't get any worse for the Raptors, Dalano Banton suffered a left ankle injury early in the third quarter and did not return.

Up Next: Atlanta Hawks

The Raptors will have two days off before heading to Atlanta to take on Trae Young and the Hawks at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday.