Scottie Barnes' rare line
- Social posts highlighted Scottie Barnes' 33 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists in a playoff game. - That 33-5-11 statline is only the 11th time that exact line has occurred in playoff history. - The stat came alongside Toronto's decisive Game 3 rout of Cleveland. ( )
Scottie Barnes put up 33 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists in Toronto’s 126-104 Game 3 win over Cleveland on April 23, and that exact playoff line has been recorded only 11 times. (espn.com) (stathead.com) Barnes shot 11-for-17, hit 3 of 5 from three-point range and went 8-for-10 at the line in 35 minutes at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto cut Cleveland’s series lead to 2-1, with Game 4 set for Sunday afternoon in Toronto. (espn.com) (cbc.ca) The game turned in the second half, when Toronto scored on 19 straight possessions and ripped off a 47-23 run across the third and fourth quarters. Barnes scored 13 points in the third quarter, and RJ Barrett matched him with 33 points for his own playoff career high. (nba.com) (cbc.ca) The exact line is the point of the stat: not “about 30 and 10,” but precisely 33 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists in one playoff game. Exact stat-line searches produce much smaller lists than category milestones, which is why social posts flagged Barnes’ box score as a historical outlier. (stathead.com) (nba.com) For Barnes, it also landed as a personal marker. ESPN and CBC both reported that the 33 points were a playoff career high, while NBA.com said the 11 assists tied his playoff career best. (espn.com) (cbc.ca) (nba.com) Toronto needed that kind of night after losing the first two games in Cleveland. The Raptors also got 22 bench points from rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, a franchise rookie playoff record, and held Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Evan Mobley below 20 points each. (espn.com) (cbc.ca) Barnes said after the game that Toronto “want[s] to do whatever it takes,” while Barrett said the win showed “we’re here” in the series. Those quotes came after the Raptors became the third Toronto duo to score at least 30 points each in a playoff game. (espn.com) The box score will be remembered for the oddity of 33-5-11, but the more immediate number is 2-1. Barnes’ rare line kept Toronto from falling into an 0-3 hole and sent the series to Game 4 with the Raptors back on their home floor. (cbc.ca) (espn.com)
