New-look Raptors clip Cavaliers 124-121 in New Year’s Day roller-coaster ride

Barrett and Quickley started for the Raptors after they were traded to Toronto from New York on Saturday.

Toronto sent forwards OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa as well as guard Malachi Flynn to the Knicks for Barrett, Quickley, and a second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Barrett, from Mississauga, Ont., was one of the key players on Canada’s bronze-medal team at the FIBA World Cup in September.

“Obviously, adding two new players in the middle of the season is challenging,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic before the game. “We met yesterday, we had a chance to talk a little bit about offence and defence, we met early this morning before shootaround to go over some basic stuff and game preparation for tonight.”

Quickley had an immediate impact, scoring Toronto’s first points with a three-pointer 56 seconds into the first quarter. Barrett got an assist on the play.

Siakam hit a three-pointer with three seconds left in the first to give Toronto a 41-32 lead at the end of the quarter.

It was the most points the Raptors has scored in a first quarter all season, and a point behind their highest score in any quarter this season. Toronto had 42 in the second quarter of its 129-127 loss in Detroit on Saturday.

A 13-2 Raptors run built an 18-point lead for the hosts in the second quarter. Mitchell hit an 18-foot jumper with two seconds left in the half to cut that lead to single digits, with Toronto carrying a 67-59 lead into intermission.

Barnes made a shot with 5:33 left in the third to reach the 3,000-point mark in his NBA career, the second youngest player in team history to hit the milestone (22 years, 153 days). Chris Bosh was 21 years, 291 days when he reached the milestone.

Siakam scored 13 points in the third quarter as Toronto maintained a 98-91 lead.

After a quick 7-3 Cavaliers’ run to open the fourth, Mitchell intercepted a Barrett pass 2:27 into the quarter and passed to George Niang for the easy layup to pull Cleveland to within a point of the Raptors.

The teams traded points and the lead for most of the fourth quarter, until Siakam hit a turnaround jump shot with 3:33 left to play to give Toronto a 118-116 lead.

After several turnovers by both teams, Mitchell hit a free throw with 2:28 to go. Boos rained down from the sold-out Scotiabank Arena crowd of 19,800 as he missed his second free throw.

Fans had been quiet for most of the night, but the fourth’s roller-coaster score brought them to life. They cheered when Jarrett Allen made only one of his two free throws to tie it and cheered when Barnes laid it in at the other end for a 120-118 lead.

A pair of Cavaliers misses allowed the Raptors to wind down the clock, but Toronto also couldn’t score as the clock ticked down. Barnes jumped up for a critical defensive rebound with 13 seconds to go and was immediately fouled.

He made one of his two free throws to extend the Raptors lead, but Thompson rebounded the second shot for a Cleveland timeout with 12.8 seconds left to tie it up.

Allen was allowed to drive to the net for an uncontested layup and on the ensuing Toronto inbound Barrett was fouled. He hit both free throws to make it 123-120 for his hometown team.

Mitchell was fouled on the next Cavaliers inbound but could only make one free throw. Barnes was fouled again with 1.1 seconds left to play and he made one of his free throws for the game’s final score.

UP NEXT — The Raptors start a six-game road trip with a stop in Memphis on Wednesday against the Grizzlies (10-22).

The Cavaliers return home Wednesday to host the Washington Wizards (6-26).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 1, 2024.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

New-look Raptors clip Cavaliers 124-121 in New Year’s Day roller-coaster ride

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