Scottie Barnes makes history with monster triple-double as Raptors push past Curry's Warriors: 'Just relentless'

TORONTO — With 23 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists, Scottie Barnes made history on Sunday afternoon, while pushing the Toronto Raptors to a gritty 141-127 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors in Scotiabank Arena.

Barnes ultimately tied Bismack Biyombo’s 2016 record for the most rebounds in a game by a Raptor, while he became the first player in franchise history to notch a 20-20-10 statline. He also joins Nikola Jokic as the only players in the last 40 years to put up at least 20-25-10.

One of those rebounds was a put-back to tie the game at 122 a piece with only 23.6 seconds remaining, helping cap off a hot stretch for the Raptors as they erased the Warriors’ double-digit, fourth-quarter lead.

Both squads would have opportunities to win the game in regulation, but it ultimately took overtime to separate these two, as the Raptors finished the final five minutes of play outscoring the Warriors 19-5.

“Amazing team win, amazing grit from the whole group, and Scottie was leading that, leading with rebounding effort, leading with playmaking, leading with defence,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković.

“He was at a really, really high level today. It was an impressive performance.”

On Sunday, Barnes says he found himself in situations where he was able to crash the glass, especially with the Raptors being without starting centre Jakob Poeltl. His effort also came out when he was “finding those loose balls.”

“It worked out for me today,” said Barnes, who registered his first triple-double of the season in what’s been an All-Star caliber campaign, filled with some unreal highlights:

The performance offset Stephen Curry’s night, as he finished with 39 points. The Raptors’ defence especially made its impact on the superstar point guard late in the game, with Curry ultimately finishing the night shooting 12-30 (40 FG%) from the field.

Post-game, Curry gave Barnes his praise, while noting that his energy was a difference maker.

“I mean, he plays at his own pace. He's a huge presence out there, and he's a great playmaker, even if it's kind of untraditional,” said Curry.

“He takes advantage of mismatches. We got him extra possessions all night, nine offensive rebounds by himself, just relentless on the board. So we gotta be as physical as he is and meet that force. And he obviously did that the whole game.”

With seven players scoring in double-digits, the win is a good bounce-back for the Raptors, after they fell to the Washington Wizards on Friday. With their recent outing, Toronto now improves to 19-14 on the season, as Barnes continues to put together a career-year.