TORONTO (AP) — RJ Barrett hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime and the Toronto Raptors pushed their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series to a seventh game by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-110 on Friday night.
Evan Mobley had a chance to win it for Cleveland but his 3-pointer bounced off the front of the rim as time expired.
Scottie Barnes had 25 points and 14 assists, Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter both scored 24 points and Collin Murray-Boyles added 17 as Toronto held on after blowing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Game 7 is in Cleveland on Sunday. The home team has won all six games so far in the series.
“This is why you fight so hard to get home-court advantage,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson 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.”
The Raptors have yet to win in 10 playoff games in Cleveland, including three this series.
“We’ve got to be ourselves,” Barnes said. “Do what we did tonight, play super hard, make it tough for every single guy out there on the floor. That’s made an impact. Guys stepped up when we needed them to. It’s going to take everybody.”
Mobley had 26 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and James Harden had 16 for the Cavaliers. Jarrett Allen scored 14 points and Dean Wade had 10.
Harden shot 5 for 14 and went 1 for 4 from 3-point range. He finished with nine rebounds and nine assists, but also made four turnovers.
Barrett’s decisive basket hit off the back rim and bounced high above the backboard before falling through as the sellout crowd of 19,919 roared.
“Sometimes the basketball gods aren’t with you,” Atkinson said.
The high bounce on Barrett’s winning basket kept Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic on edge.
“It was only half a second, but it felt like an eternity,” Rajakovic said. “I was happy for him, for this team, for this city, that the shot went down.”
Barrett felt good about his chances as he watched the ball bounce high.
“I thought it was still good because it went straight up,” Barrett said. “When it goes straight up, you have a chance.”
For Mitchell, the friendly bounce was reminiscent of an even bigger playoff basket north of the border: Kawhi Leonard’s four-bounce buzzer-beating winner against Philadelphia in Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals.
Rajakovic said he had a feeling before the game that Barrett was going to come up big.
“Call me crazy, call me psychic, but I saw this one coming tonight,” Rajakovic said. “It’s surreal.”
Mitchell said the loss wouldn’t change Cleveland’s focus for Sunday.
“Protect home court,” Mitchell said. “It doesn’t matter if we lost by 30 or two, protect home court. That’s all you can do.”
Barnes had 14 points and 10 assists by halftime, making him the eighth NBA player since 1997 with 14 or more points and 10 or more assists in one half of a playoff game.
Cleveland finished with 18 turnovers, leading to 25 points for Toronto.
The Raptors also held a big edge in fast-break points, outscoring the Cavaliers 20-6.
Raptors forward Brandon Ingram did not play because of a sore right heel. Ingram left in the second quarter of Wednesday’s 125-120 loss at Cleveland. His status for Sunday is uncertain.
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