TORONTO -- RJ Barrett's game-winning 3-pointer in overtime hit the back rim and bounced high above the backboard before falling through the hoop, sending a sellout crowd of 19,919 fans into a frenzy as the Raptors avoided elimination Friday night with a 112-110 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series.
Barrett's shot, a 29-footer from the top of the 3-point arc that fell in with 1.2 seconds remaining, pushed this series to a Game 7 and drew comparisons to iconic playoff shots of the past.
"I knew it was good because it went straight up. If it goes straight up, you've got a chance, like that [Tyrese] Haliburton shot," Barrett said, referring to the Indiana Pacers star's dramatic shot against the New York Knicks in Game 1 of last season's Eastern Conference finals.
In fact, Haliburton took to social media to respond to Barrett's shot after the game, posting on X, "That looked familiar."
"It was only half a second, but it felt like an eternity," Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. "I was happy for him, for this team, for this city, that the shot went down."
Cavs star Donovan Mitchell said Barrett's game-winner initially made him think of another iconic playoff shot from Toronto's past.
"First thing I thought of was Kawhi Leonard, to be honest," Mitchell said, referring to Leonard's four-bounce, buzzer-beater to win Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals for the Raptors.
The Raptors, who were down 2-0 in the series, rallied to win all three games in Toronto to force a Game 7 in Cleveland on Sunday night. The home team has won all six games so far in the series.
Barrett, a Toronto native who played on the Canadian National basketball team during the 2024 Olympics, is the second player in NBA history to hit a game-winning field goal in the final two seconds of overtime to help his team avoid elimination, according to ESPN Research. He finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in 43 minutes.
"Just happy to be able to be in this moment, playing for my hometown team," Barrett said. "That's amazing. I'm so proud of this group so far, and I think it's going to be even sweeter when we go get Game 7."
Rajakovic said he had a feeling Barrett would come up big Friday night. Rajakovic said he was drawing up "after-timeout" plays specifically for Barrett alongside his assistant coaches before the game.
"Call me crazy, call me psychic," Rajakovic said after the game. "But I saw this one coming tonight."
Trailing by one point on their final possession, the Raptors gave the ball to Scottie Barnes, who led the team with 25 points and 14 assists. Barnes said he initially was looking to score to begin the play, but he and Barrett spoke before the ball was inbounded.
"He was like, 'I got you, Just trust me,'" Barnes recalled.
"Him having that trust in me to make that pass at that moment was huge," Barrett said. "I didn't make nothing the whole fourth quarter, whole overtime."
Toronto heads to Cleveland looking to complete a first-round upset and make some franchise history. The Raptors are 0-10 all time in Cleveland during the playoffs, including 0-3 this year.
"Forget everything that's happened so far," Barrett said. "We've got one game to decide it all. This group has been tough and resilient, and we've fought through the toughest of tasks all year long. Going to Cleveland, Game 7, is going to be a tough task, but that's what we're built for."
