Scottie Barnes showcased his all-around repertoire against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night.
The Toronto Raptors rookie got the last laugh after LeBron James whipped a ball at him in Monday night’s victory over the Lakers.
LeBron James is letting off some steam on Scottie Barnes 😅 pic.twitter.com/aKKCddTtfF — Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) March 15, 2022
Barnes had 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists shooting 9-of-17 from the field. The Raptors led by 24 in the first quarter as the Lakers were soundly defeated for the second consecutive night.
Barnes had 15 first quarter points, three more than the Lakers as a team during that stint. Barnes was confronting James all night in both ends of the floor, being aggressive as the Raptors added their fourth consecutive win to improve to 38-30.
“Of course, as a young player coming in, it’s always like a hype game getting to play with him,” Barnes told reporters. “I would say it was a big game out there playing against him. Did what we needed to do.”
Barnes is a legit candidate to win Rookie of the Year this season. He puts up 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists through 60 games this season.
Prior to the Lakers’ matchup, he teased a triple-double with 25 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the Raptors’ 127-115 victory over the Nuggets.
In the last nine games, the Florida State product is averaging 19.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists on 54/33/71 shooting splits. These some astonishing numbers for the rookie.
“He played like he’s been playing, you know what I mean? He’s taken it in there and being assertive,” Nurse told reporters.
“He’s been playing through the hits and playing more physical, especially for his age. He’s playing about as physical as anybody for us. That to me is what I like really liked to see.”
The Raptors will hope to see more of the same from their rookie in the remaining games. Toronto is one game behind the sixth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who are facing several injuries during the last part of the season.
The two teams will face each other on March 25. The Cavaliers are 3-0 in the regular season series, and they secured the tiebreaker.
Comments