Scottie Barnes Told Nick Nurse to Start Precious Achiuwa in the 2nd Half

Toronto Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes helped make the decision to start Precious Achiuwa in the 2nd half of Wednesday's victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves

Aaron Rose | Mar 31, 2022

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Scottie Barnes read the room.

He'd watched Karl-Anthony Towns find success against the Toronto Raptors early and after Precious Achiuwa banged in three second-quarter three-pointers, he was willing to whatever was best for the team. When Raptors coach Nick Nurse approached him with the idea of potentially starting Achiuwa in the second half, Barnes was fully on board.

"Listen, he was a part of that decision too," Nurse said. "He just thought that... Precious should matchup on (Towns) and he's like, 'I'll come off the bench and let Precious go guard him.'"

It was a stroke of genius from Nurse and Barnes who saw Toronto's two-point halftime lead balloon to double digits before Achiuwa subbed out for Barnes midway through the third quarter. From there, Barnes took over for the Raptors, scoring 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the second half after a quiet first stint.

"We see that every now ... the ball doesn't find him and he can't quite find those maneuvers in towards the rim," Nurse said. "He finally did there for a stretch and imposed his size on everybody."

Late in the fourth quarter, Barnes put the exclamation mark on the night, picking off a pass from Jake Layman and sprinting down the court for the emphatic transition slam. On a night in which Evan Mobley was sidelined due to an injury in Cleveland, Toronto's rookie showed why the Rookie of the Year award should be his to lose.

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