Friday night wasn't the electric duel between Barnes and Mobley that many had hoped for, but both made solid contributions. In the end, Mobley helped the Cavaliers to victory and strengthened his case in the early Rookie of the Year race. (loung_s)
And most interestingly about these two fabulous-looking first-year players is that they’re not only doing it on the offensive end of the floor -- where they’ve both been strong, entering Friday’s action as the leading and fifth-leading rookie scorers in the NBA -- but have also managed to meaningfully impact the game on the defensive end, as well.
Added Raptors coach Nick Nurse: “These two guys, both, the tools and talent they’ve been given, they’ve realized it. They’ve used it as a strength and played with those strengths. A lot of defence starts with the want-to and desire to want to do it. I think they both understand that that’s how they can make impactful and winning plays. So they both do it.”
Barnes finished the contest with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Mobley ended up with 18 points. More importantly, however, was how each player helped impact the game defensively with both checking each other at times and taking turns locking each other up on possessions. Barnes, in particular, impressed on that end of the floor, highlighted by a monstrous block out of bounds in the second quarter on a Ricky Rubio lay-up attempt.
This domineering defence seen from the Raptors saw them in control for most of the game. They led by as much as 15, but in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers mounted a comeback and pulled within as much as a single point with a little under six minutes in the period to play. Fred VanVleet immediately responded with a long two-pointer that was initially thought to be a triple until official review changed it to put Toronto up 94-91.
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