Scottie Barnes and Raptors ‘raging’ after NBA Cup game — and not just because they lost: ‘It’s kind of B.S.’ - Toronto Star

Barnes scored a career high 41 points on 34 shots against the Orlando Magic but the scoring explosion only included three free throws.

Raptors star Scottie Barnes falls to the court against the Orlando Magic during the second half.

Scottie Barnes tried his best to bite his tongue and not lash out. It was a valiant effort.

He chuckled a bit, smiled a bit, looked ruefully at times. He glanced at reporters and a Raptors media relations staffer overseeing the post-game chat and explained, “I’m trying to get good PR here.”

Barnes did a great job, he really did. And then he came close to breaking.

“I think that’s enough for me to say,” was almost his final statement on the issue.

“I’m raging on the inside right now, but it is what it is.”

What had forced Barnes to sublimate his thoughts was a statistical anomaly that accompanied the best scoring night of his NBA career.

He scored a career-high 41 points after taking 34 shots in Toronto’s 121-114 loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday night at Scotiabank Arena, but the scoring explosion only included three free throws. And in a game with a total of 44 foul shots, 54 fouls and the incessant whistle of the officials, it was hard to fathom Barnes getting so few trips to the line.

His coach, no stranger to publicly chastising NBA officials for perceived slights against his all-star forward, wasn’t as careful.

“You know,” Darko Rajakovic said, “a player who gets 34 shots in a game, who scores 41 points and goes to the free throw line three times, it’s kind of B.S., to be honest with you.”

The shot disparity was stark. The Raptors, who lead the league in committing fouls (28.6 per game through five games), were called for 33 personals and the Magic went 25-for-29 from the line; Orlando was assessed 21 personals and Toronto was 11-for-15 at the charity stripe.

Four of five Magic starters shot at least six foul shots; the only Raptor starter who got even four was RJ Barrett.

In the first NBA Cup game of the season it was a decisive advantage.

No one felt more stung by it than Barnes, who set career highs in points and field-goal attempts.

“He looked like a man on a mission,” said teammate Jakob Poeltl, who broke out offensively with season highs of 12 points and 11 rebounds. “He was really, really aggressive out there. They tried to throw everybody at him. 
It didn’t really matter too much. He made some very tough shots. It’s just too bad we couldn’t help him enough.”

It frustrated Barnes because he played more aggressively on offence than he had at any point in this season and was not rewarded by it. It’s true that many of his shot attempts were mid-range jumpers after he created separation from his defender for step-backs, but he also made enough of a concerted effort to reach the rim and initiate contact. According to nba.com, only 12 of his shots were outside the paint, including just two three-point attempts. Nine shots came inside the restricted area; he wasn’t settling for jumpers all the time.

“I did a great job going downhill, being aggressive,” Barnes said. “Definitely think I could have got to the free-throw line more. I think being that aggressive, only shooting three free throws was kind of crazy, but …”

Barnes’s increased assertiveness is a huge boost to Toronto’s offence. He did that in two games against Orlando this past week because the memory of an earlier scoreless, uninvolved game in Minnesota bugged him and gave the Raptors no chance to win.

“I think I’ve just been trying to get aggressive, especially (after) the Minnesota game, for sure,” Barnes said. “My mindset going into a game now is just trying to keep trying to be as aggressive as I can, try to help the team as much as I can.

“I think I’m getting to my (mid-range shot) spots pretty good. The difference being is just being able to get those spots but also being aggressive going to the rim, not always settling.”

And maybe get the whistles to more closely match his shot attempts.

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Doug Smith is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on BlueSky: @smithraptorsbeat.bsky.social.