The Raptors were ecstatic after a 108-100 victory over the Phoenix Suns, who had won seven straight and had Kevin Durant back in the lineup:
“I thought (Barnes) and (Anunoby) did an outstanding job on one of the league’s best duos in Durant and Booker, and I’m really proud of the job he did today… The physicality displayed throughout the game paid off. OG did a great job right away of being physical with (Durant), making it very difficult for KD to catch the ball outside his zone, and his size and ability to contest those shots caused him to miss some of them.”
Scottie Barnes on why he excels in the fourth quarter:
“I’m not sure. That dog is in me. I become extremely energized. I only recently discovered the rhythm and got it going. I found something and just kept going, being aggressive. It was effective.”
Rajakovic’s thoughts on getting Barnes going earlier:
“This is a long game.” The game lasts 48 minutes. Sure, we’d like Scottie to be on the field every play, but we’re constantly reminding him that we need him like that in the first, second, and third quarters. When the game is on the line, you have players, and Scottie is one of those guys, you can just tell by the look in his eyes that he’s like ultra focused and ready. He enjoys the moment. He’s enjoying the moment and is prepared to go out there and do whatever it takes, is that an assist, an offensive rebound, or a blocked shot?”
Barnes on Dennis Schroder’s nutmegging of Durant (passing through his legs):
“That was hot. It was in transition, and I saw him throw it to him and thought, ‘Oh, damn.’ It was an excellent performance.”
Barnes comments on his improved shot:
“I’m very sure of my shot. I have the impression that I am shooting the ball very well. I didn’t get many shots in today, but I’m going to be confident in my shot regardless. I’m confident that I’m shooting the ball if you close out short and go under screens… Yeah. They’ve been closing out with more urgency… But, you know, some teams, I guess they don’t respect it. So all you have to do now is make them pay.”
Pascal Siakam on the Raptors’ search for identity:
“I don’t think it matters who our opponent is; we just need to be consistent in our actions.” We find ourselves in certain games with low energy or not, we’re not making the right plays, we’re not making shots, and we’re turning the ball over. I believe it is a combination of several factors. It doesn’t really matter how we play once we’re locked in; I think we just need to keep finding our chemistry.”
Suns coach Frank Vogel had this to say about the game:
“They played a fantastic basketball game and kept us from doing a lot of things we wanted to do… We didn’t do a good enough job screening for (Durant), so he was available. He was forced to do far too much one-on-one work and far too much on his own. We must improve in this area.”
Durant’s thoughts on the game:
“I never feel like I’m out of sync. I simply missed shots. Tonight, I believe the lid was on the basket. I believe we had good looks, but we didn’t finish.”
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