It hit the back rim, bounced high above the backboard, hung in the air for what felt like forever—and fell through.
RJ Barrett‘s three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime sent the Toronto Raptors past the Cleveland Cavaliers, 112-110, on Saturday, forcing a Game 7 and sending 19,919 fans at a sellout Scotiabank Arena into delirium. Cleveland’s Evan Mobley had a chance to answer at the other end—his three-pointer looked on line—but it hit the front of the rim and the series lives on. Game 7 is on Monday in Cleveland, with home team having won all six games in this series.
The basketball gods had opinions on Saturday. They just did not share them with either team until the very end.
Barrett’s Raptors Moment—and the Bounce That Made It
The shot did not go in cleanly. Barrett watched it launch off the back rim and arc high above the backboard, and he kept his composure about what he saw.
“I thought it was still good because it went straight up,” Barrett said. “When it goes straight up, you have a chance.”
He was right. The ball came down through the net, the horn sounded, and the building erupted.
Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said he felt something before the game—a sense that his shooting guard was going to deliver when it mattered.
“Call me crazy, call me psychic, but I saw this one coming tonight,” Rajakovic said. “It’s surreal.” He added: “It was only half a second, but it felt like an eternity. I was happy for him, for this team, for this city, that the shot went down.”
The bounce drew immediate comparisons to Kawhi Leonard’s iconic four-bounce buzzer-beater against Philadelphia in Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals—Toronto’s most famous playoff basket. This one was not quite that, but in the moment it was close enough.
“Sometimes the basketball gods aren’t with you,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said.
How the Raptors Got There
Barrett finished with 24 points, but the story of the night belonged first to Scottie Barnes. The Raptors forward posted 25 points and 14 assists—including a stunning 14 points and 10 assists by halftime alone, making him just the eighth NBA player since 1997 to reach those numbers in a single half of a playoff game. Ja’Kobe Walter also scored 24 and Collin Murray-Boyles added 17 off the bench.
Toronto built an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and let it slip away—Cleveland forced overtime with a late run—but the Raptors found enough composure to finish it. Brandon Ingram did not play due to a sore right heel, a significant absence that Toronto managed despite.
The Raptors also won the game within the game. Cleveland turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 25 Toronto points. The Raptors outscored the Cavaliers 20-6 in fast-break points. When you gift a playoff opponent that many extra possessions, you are giving them the series, one basket at a time—and eventually, as Atkinson’s team discovered on Saturday, you run out of chances to take it back.
For Cleveland, Evan Mobley led all scorers with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell scored 24. James Harden posted 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists but shot 5-for-14 and committed 4 turnovers. It was the kind of performance that keeps a team in a game but does not win it.
What Comes Next
The home team has won every game in this series. Every single one. That fact looms over Monday’s Game 7 in Cleveland—it favors the Cavaliers, and Atkinson was direct about what his team needs to do with it.
“This is why you fight so hard to get home-court advantage,” he said. “We knew this wasn’t going to be easy. This is the playoffs, this is what it’s about. We’ve got to recover and get ready for Sunday’s game.”
Toronto heads to Cleveland with nothing to lose and everything to play for. Barrett hit the shot that got them there. Now someone has to finish it.
