Denver Nuggets 127, Toronto Raptors 125 (OT)

Scottie Barnes is just a hit man.

The Raptors continue to find ways to put Barnes in mismatches and against a Nuggets team as shallow as this one appears to be, Denver had no answer. He repeatedly made smaller defenders step back, launching into his post-up shimmy for turnaround floaters, scoring 16 of his points (21 points Monday night in the paint).

It was a pass from Barnes on a pick-and-roll with Jakob Poeltl to Gradey Dick that gave Toronto a nine-point lead midway through the fourth. He followed it up moments later with a full-court alley-oop that he threw with pinpoint accuracy to Ochai Agbaji, then capped his brilliant fourth-quarter run with a LeBron James-style transition block on Christian Braun .

A Barnes three-pointer on Braun with two minutes remaining gave Toronto a 10-point lead, but Denver wouldn’t go away. The Nuggets managed to erase everything in the final minutes, taking advantage of a layup from Jamal Murray to force overtime.

“He’s a big guy who can handle the ball, who looks for mismatches, who can send the ball downhill, who finds open teammates, who can post-up, he can play mid-range, he can ISO, ” Nikola Jokic said about Barnes. “He’s a very good player.”

When Denver sent help to Barnes, the All-Star forward showed off his prowess as a playmaker. He threw a mind-boggling, no-bounce pass to Ochai Agbaji, cutting in from the corner for an impressive slam in the third quarter that gave the Raptors an 11-point lead after Denver cut Toronto’s lead to just five minutes earlier. It was the second of two no-look passes Barnes threw after connecting with Mogbo on a no-look pass in transition in the second.

Barnes recorded a career-high five interceptions on Friday, including a fourth-quarter steal against Aaron Gordon, taking the ball the other way in transition before being fouled by Russell Westbrook in what was considered flagrant. This moment sparked a brief skirmish that resulted in a double technical as Barnes and Gordon had to be separated after some pushing and shoving.

“Scottie defended like he had to,” RJ Barrett said. “I was there with my one good shoulder. But yeah, we don’t back down from anyone. So it’s good to see that.”

A stellar night from Barnes was only marred by one injury he suffered in the last minute when Jokic inadvertently hit Barnes in the right eye with an elbow trying to grab a defensive rebound. Barnes remained on the ground during the ensuing possession and had to be taken to the locker room.

RJ Barrett didn’t miss a beat.

The Canadian forward returned from an AC joint injury to make his season debut Monday night and looked just as fit as he did at the end of last season in Toronto. He came out of the gate in attack mode, scoring nine of Toronto’s first 13 points and forcing Denver to burn a timeout just four minutes into the game.

Barrett is still not 100 percent. Every time he left, he walked to the bench and was immediately greeted with a shoulder brace and he keeps coming back. But on the field, there were no signs of trouble for the 6-foot-7 forward.

On a descent, it is difficult to stop it. He got Toronto’s offense going early and helped the Raptors take a 13-point lead in the third quarter after grabbing an offensive rebound and hitting a turnover three-pointer.

Down by two, Barrett had a chance to win the game for Toronto in overtime, running down the court in the final seconds before hitting a lightly contested three-pointer that would have given the Raptors the lead. The shot didn’t fall and Denver grabbed the rebound to escape with the victory.

“I’m comfortable with that shot. I’m happy with the shot he took. That’s exactly who I am,” said Barrett, who finished the night with 20 points in nearly 29 minutes. “That’s who I’ve always been. I’ll give it another try. I just don’t know. That’s just who RJ Barrett is.”

So far, this 2024 draft class is looking pretty good.

This is of course a small sample size, but Jamal Shead and Jonathan Mogbo look like NBA contributors and maybe even more than that. That’s before Toronto even gets a look at first-round pick Ja’Kobe Walter, who is headed to the G League to continue his rehabilitation process ahead of his NBA debut.

Shead is simply relentless on both sides of the ball. He’s tough to fight through screens and has no problem getting up against opposing point guards and pressuring the ball all over the court. He and Mogbo were able to kill 13 seconds off the shot clock by simply being active defensively, taking backs all over the court and jumping into passing lanes.

“One thing I like about the rookies on our team is that they are not afraid,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said. “They’re not afraid of the moment. They’re not afraid to get on the field and play hard. And when you play hard and when you have your heart in the right place to play for a team, good things happen.

This is how Shead and Mogbo have played so far.

Shead committed an offensive foul in the first half when he took a nasty shoulder from Aaron Gordon and ducked his head repeatedly, reaching the hoop for eight points Monday.

“That’s his best weapon. He’s going to be disruptive defensively, he’s going to do a good job protecting all the elite players in this league,” Rajaković said. “There are no easy nights and rests, and he’s learning what it takes to do it every night. I was very, very pleased with the effort he put in there.”

Mogbo clearly moved ahead of Bruno Fernando in the rotation pecking order and was designated as Toronto’s backup center, even against Jokic in a pinch. His fit has proven valuable in limited minutes so far and his versatility is a trait the Raptors will lean on even more in the future.

The Raptors will hit the road and head to Charlotte for a one-game road trip against the Hornets on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.