Barrett sinks game-winning overtime three as Raptors stun Cavaliers to force Game 7

TORONTO — RJ Barrett’s faith was never shaken.

Even as he missed all four of his shots in the fourth quarter of the Toronto Raptors’ pivotal Game 6 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, even as his three-point attempt in the dying seconds of overtime hit the back of the rim, the ball hanging high above the net for nearly a second and a half.

“I knew it was good because it went straight up,” said Barrett. “If it goes straight up, you’ve got a chance.”

The Raptors were trailing Cleveland by a point when Cavaliers all-star forward Evan Mobley put the ball out of play with 10.9 seconds left to play in the extra period. The turnover gave Toronto one last possession.

After a timeout, Barrett inbounded the ball to Scottie Barnes. He dribbled down the court, drew a double team at the top of the key, and passed it back to Barrett who was trailing the play.

Barrett released the shot with 4.4 seconds left on the clock and after its high bounce it swished through the net with 1.2 seconds to go.

“We talked about it right before the play happened, but (Barnes) having that trust in me, to make that pass at that moment, was huge,” said Barrett. “And then glory be to God, I make nothing the whole fourth quarter, whole of overtime, so for that shot to drop … Yeah.”

Barrett’s clutch three helped Toronto stave off playoff elimination with the 112-110 win over Cleveland to tie the best-of-seven series 3-3. Game 7 will be at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena on Sunday, a venue where the Raptors have never won a post-season game in 10 tries.

A native of neighbouring Mississauga, Ont., Barrett said he had dreamt of hitting a game-winning shot for his hometown team his whole life.

“Still dream about it,” said Barrett.

Barnes had a double-double with 25 points and 14 assists, adding seven rebounds. Barrett scored 24 points and nearly had a double-double of his own with nine rebounds.

“Really, I was just trying to score. They did a good job of stopping me. They brought help,” said Barnes of setting up Barrett’s 29-footer. “Just trusted my teammate — he already told me coming out on the court, before we passed the ball, and he was like, ‘I got you, just trust me.'”

Toronto was without two of its regular starters: point guard Immanuel Quickley and all-star forward Brandon Ingram, who was the team’s scoring leader in the regular season.

Second-year guards Ja’Kobe Walter and Jamal Shead started in their stead. Walter finished with 24 points and Shead had seven.

Ingram was ruled out by the Raptors less than two hours before opening tipoff. The two-time all-star aggravated inflammation in his right heel and the Raptors said it had not improved despite a day of rest.

Quickley has missed the entire series with a strained right hamstring.

“Anything can happen. No matter if you’re down people or anything,” said Walter. “I think it all comes down to who wants it more, who has more energy, who is more physical, who executes more.

“Everybody’s got to step up.”

Mobley had his best performance of the series with a double-double, scoring 26 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. After the game, he said he felt the ball didn’t go off him on the final turnover, but was last touched by Raptors rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles.

Donovan Mitchell overcame a slow start to finish with 24 points and James Harden flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

There were 11 lead changes in the game, with Toronto getting ahead by as many as 15 points. A 12-2 Cavaliers run, capped by Mobley’s dunk with 5:48 left to play in the fourth quarter, cut the Raptors lead to one.

The two teams stayed neck-and-neck for the next few minutes of play with the Raptors holding on to their narrow lead but Cleveland’s offence firing right back.

Barnes was sent to the free-throw line with 1:17 left to play, but he only made one of his shots to give Toronto a 104-102 lead. Mitchell missed a three-pointer with 42.4 seconds on the clock and Barrett gathered the rebound.

The Canadian swingman put up a three-point attempt with 15.8 seconds to go, but the referees called a 24-second shot clock violation on the Raptors, giving Cleveland possession.

After a Cavaliers timeout, Mobley scored on a simple layup to tie the game 104-104. Although Shead got an awkward jumper off at the other end of the court before time expired, he didn’t make the basket and the game went to overtime.

“They played with a lot of force, a ton of force. Hit us pretty hard,” said Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson. “But then we showed great resiliency coming back.

“This is typical NBA playoff basketball.”

Cleveland outscored Toronto 23-12 in the fourth, the first quarter that the visitors had outscored the Raptors.

The two teams traded field goals through overtime, with Mitchell seemingly sealing the Cavaliers comeback when he made a layup with 33.7 seconds left.

Shead made one of two free throws on the next possession to make it 110-109 for Cleveland. Backup point guard Dennis Schroder tried to dribble out the clock but made the decision to pass along the sideline, leading to Mobley’s turnover and Barrett’s heroics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press