Ottawa Fans Were Glued to Their Screens for That One
Ottawa basketball lovers had a Friday night to remember as RJ Barrett delivered one of the most dramatic moments of this NHL playoff season — wait, wrong sport. This was pure NBA magic, and the capital felt every second of it.
Barrett, the Mississauga-born guard who has become one of Canada's most beloved NBA stars, drilled a 29-foot three-pointer in the dying seconds of overtime to lift the undermanned Toronto Raptors past the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-110. The win keeps Toronto's playoff hopes breathing — barely — and sent Ottawa sports bars into a frenzy.
A Canadian Hero Comes Through
There's something special about watching a homegrown Canadian talent deliver on the biggest stage. Barrett, who grew up in Mississauga and has long been a source of national pride, hit what may go down as one of the most clutch shots in recent Raptors history.
With the Raptors shorthanded and many counting them out, Barrett took matters into his own hands. His step-back, nearly half-court heave swished through the net as the buzzer sounded, capping an extraordinary individual performance and staving off what would have been playoff elimination.
For Ottawa fans — who have long supported the Raptors as Canada's only NBA franchise — Friday night was a reminder of why you never turn off the game early.
The View from the Capital
The Raptors have always had a devoted following in Ottawa, a city with no NBA team of its own. Sports bars across the Glebe, Centretown, and Westboro were packed for Game 5, and social media lit up with Ottawa accounts sharing their disbelief, joy, and relief in real time.
The series loss would have stung hard — not just because Ottawa fans invest so deeply in the Raptors as Canada's team, but because a Barrett-led rebuild has quietly been winning hearts back after a difficult few seasons post-championship.
What's Next
The Raptors now head back to Cleveland still facing a series deficit, but Barrett's heroics have injected new life into a fanbase that was bracing for an early summer. Ottawa fans will be watching closely to see if Toronto can complete what would be a stunning comeback.
Whether you caught it at home or at a packed bar on Elgin Street, Friday night was one of those sports moments Ottawa will be talking about well into the weekend.
Source: Global News Ottawa
