10 things: Raptors fall asleep on game-winning layup in OT

Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors' 124-122 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

One — The Raptors have nobody but themselves to blame for losing this game three times down the stretch. Scottie Barnes missed a guaranteed layup at the end of regulation, the Raptors couldn't protect an eight-point edge with two minutes left, and when given a gift of two missed free throws and a foul to tie in overtime, the Raptors melted down and allowed Trae Young to glide the length of the floor in three seconds for a genius hit-ahead pass to A.J. Griffin for a completely uncontested game-winning layup. You have to hand it to the Raptors for giving it their best shot with seven (!) rotation players out, but that doesn't change the fact that they squandered the win.

Two — Allowing the Hawks to score an open layup with less than four seconds while inbounding from their own basket requires a comedy of errors. The Raptors tried to deny the entry pass going to Trae by having Thad Young position himself away from his own basket, which makes sense given that Trae the biggest threat, but the rest of it was sloppy. The Raptors didn't communicate their assignments, particularly as Trae got a head start after a give-and-go with Dejounte Murray, and he was able to break free for a 2-on-1 with only O.G. Anunoby in the backcourt. The most curious part of the sequence was Scottie Barnes leaving his assignment and rushing ahead into the frontcourt and getting nowhere near the ball. That's what led to the mismatch in numbers on defense. It's unclear if Nick Nurse had called for a trap, or if Barnes took the decision to gamble on his own. Either way, it was a massive mistake.

Three — Barnes squandered a golden opportunity for the win in regulation. O.G. Anunoby was given the chance to make the game-winner after having tied the game the previous trip down, but his stepback jumper bounced short. Fortunately, Christian Koloko was on the scene for one of his seven offensive rebounds and handed it to Fred VanVleet, who smartly made the read to drive into the defence, drawing two defenders, then shoveling to Barnes who cut baseline after his man rotated to VanVleet. Barnes had the chance to dunk it, but went for the layup on the play perhaps out of concern for a shot clock violation, and ended up missing both the shot and the tip. Run that exact sequence back 100 times and the Raptors win 95 of them.

Four — Aside from the late blunders, this was the best game of the season for Barnes. He finished one assist shy of a triple-double and was the main driver of the Raptors' success for most of the night. Barnes embraced the challenge of leading the shorthanded group and looked to involve himself at every opportunity. Here's a partial list of the plays he made: A driving poster dunk, a buzzer-beating triple, a total of four threes which accounted for half his team's total, a wraparound assist around a defender for a layup, and a pair of emphatic blocks at the basket. Barnes made three plays at the end of the first three quarters to create seven points, and his point-blank miss was the only one to keep him from the cycle. When he puts his mind to it and is fully confident and engaged, Barnes is able to get to all the spots he wants to, and then let his creativity and ability do the rest. This is why Nurse keeps begging him to be aggressive at every turn because this could be the standard, not just on occasion.

Five — Barnes rolled his ankle yet again and had to leave the game briefly in the fourth. It happened on an innocent play where Barnes was jockeying for a rebound and got tangled up with Young. When he left the game, the Raptors unfortunately dropped in intensity, and could not corral Young who got free for a floater on the baseline, then got into the paint for a kickout three, and followed with a 30-footer of his own. Toronto held an eight-point lead with two minutes left, but allowed a 10-0 run by the Hawks and nearly lost in regulation.

Six — This was letdown performance from VanVleet, who looked labored and slow on both ends of the floor. VanVleet made a couple of impressive wrong-footed layups to evade shot blockers early on, but he was hardly himself. VanVleet shot 1-for-11 from deep despite having plenty of open looks, and even the one trey he made bounced on the rim four times before somehow rolling in. Defensively, he was pesky by reaching in on drives, but was repeatedly unable to contain Young and Murray who were able to turn the corner on him time and time again. VanVleet was barely involved in the offence late in regulation and overtime, which is very rarely the case, even when he is struggling.

Seven — Anunoby continues to impact the offense even though his shot isn't falling. Anunoby has scored 59 points in the last two games with only one made three, which typically would account for nearly half of his scoring. He's getting to the basket at an impressive rate, even if he is still leaving points on the board between travels, charges, and consistently missing short on pull-up jumpers. Anunoby took it strong both at the end of regulation and overtime, and he knocked down all four free throws to tie the game for the Raptors. Anunoby won't have as many touches when Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. return, but there's no reason why he shouldn't stay as aggressive as he has been in their absence.

Eight — Malachi Flynn stepped up with 17 points off the bench. Flynn was confident with his jumper, and paired well with Barnes as they each set each other up for threes in the third quarter. Flynn took his chances to attack, especially when he had a big switched onto him, or when he had a chance to attack Young. Flynn even got involved on the defensive end, as he jumped into scrums to win two loose balls before ultimately fouling out in the last minute. Flynn also made a smart hit-ahead pass to Anunoby for an early post-up down the stretch, which caught the Hawks napping for an and-one to stretch the lead to eight points.

Nine — Thad Young's tireless efforts kept the Raptors in the game. He has such a knack for knowing how to position himself, whether it's on offensive rebounds or on cuts to the hoop, which is how he was able to score 9-of-10 from within the arc. Young has shown great chemistry with everyone on the roster, and has been especially productive alongside the starters where he can capitalize off the attention paid to the main players. On a similar note, Juancho Hernangomez has proven to be a useful glue guy in a similar role as Young, where he finds ways to contribute with his off-ball movement, pesky defence, and reliable rebounding. This recent stretch has shown that the Raptors do indeed have depth when they choose to turn to it.

Ten — Despite the win, it's clear that the Raptors are a bad matchup for the Hawks. The way to beat the Raptors is to move the ball against their double teams into the corner for open shooters, and the Hawks attempt the fewest threes in the league. Young is a very slippery cover, but Barnes has done as well as anybody in that assignment. On the other side of the ball, the Raptors always have size advantages to exploit, which is why Barnes, Anunoby, Young, and Pascal Siakam have all thrived in this matchup.