Toronto Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes produced a career night on Friday and earned high praise from veteran teammate Fred VanVleet following the performance.
Barnes led the Raptors with a career-high 27 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal during the 109-105 win over the Washington Wizards. He finished the contest by shooting 12-of-19 from the field in nearly 40 minutes of work.
The fourth pick went to work early, scoring 17 points in the first half as the Raptors overcame a 13-point deficit in the second quarter to lead at the intermission. He did the majority of his work in the paint and often had his way with the Wizards’ defenders.
CAREER-HIGH MOOD 🔥 @ScottBarnes561 pic.twitter.com/Qmj1i82IDl
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 22, 2022
Early in the contest, Barnes was pulled from the game after a couple of errors. He sat for about four minutes before returning and had very few issues the rest of the way. Despite the early blunder, VanVleet loved how Barnes bounced back and led the Raptors.
I thought he was aggressive. He was physical tonight, assertive from the jump. He had a couple of miscues early, I think Coach took him out and got him right back in. He was pretty locked in tonight and, obviously, he has a high, high ceiling and is a very talented young player. Anytime he has got it going like that, you just try to get him the ball in his spots.
Barnes has emerged as an early-season candidate for Rookie of the Year after averaging 14.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and one steal in 36 games. He is fourth in scoring average and second in rebounding average among all first-year players.
He has established himself as one of the Raptors’ key players this season. He has played, at times, well beyond his years and his teammates have certainly taken notice of his early-season success.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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