Photo: Toronto Raptors/X

Toronto snapped a difficult stretch on Friday by defeating Phoenix, ending a run in which it had lost six of its previous eight games, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Scottie Barnes, who was listed as questionable before the game due to illness, played despite feeling under the weather and delivered the most important defensive moment late in the contest.

Barnes chased down Jalen Green and blocked his dunk attempt from behind after Green initially beat him on the drive.

“Got out there. Was a little tired and a little winded,” Barnes said after posting 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal in 31 minutes. “Fight through and make it to live another day.”

The Raptors were holding a four-point lead with 43 seconds remaining when Barnes made the block.

The play quickly turned into a fast-break dunk for RJ Barrett, creating a four-point swing that helped seal the victory.

According to Grange, it was Toronto’s first win over a team with a winning record since January 25.

“It’s pretty amazing. We hit adversity,” said Barnes. “We had two options, to either quit (or) go out there and fight. This just shows the character of this team. We went out there and fought and got a dub.

“This was a great game. They had us in that first half. We fought back; we made winning plays.”

Brandon Ingram also delivered a strong performance, finishing with a game-high 36 points on 13-of-20 shooting while adding seven rebounds, three assists and a steal.

“I think it was an urgency to compete and most of all stay together,” Ingram said. “We’ve been through some times where the other team was scoring offensively and we weren’t able to stop the bleeding or find a rhythm on the offensive end.

“At those times, we would put our heads down a little bit and sort of take it upon ourselves to try to fix it. I think tonight we just stayed connected.”

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