Watch: RJ Barrett snatches Nikola Vucevic’s soul with vicious poster dunk

Watch: RJ Barrett snatches Nikola Vucevic’s soul with vicious poster dunk

RJ Barrett (Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY)

Knicks star forward RJ Barrett has built himself a reputation as a high flyer ever since his Duke days. The athletic wing already has some highlight dunks under his belt, the most famous of which is the dunk over Bogdan Bogdanovic in the 2021 playoffs. Barrett has just added Nikola Vucevic to his list of victims.

The play happened in the third quarter. Point Guard Jalen Brunson kicked the ball out to Barrett who attacked Derozan’s closeout. After getting by Demar, Barrett found himself with a clean runway to the rim and he used it to leap and slam the ball into the hoop over Vucevic trying to provide weak-side help. Barrett’s display of athleticism quickly made the rounds on social media at the expense of the Bulls center. The monstrous slam by RJ Barrett is certainly one of the best dunks of the season so far.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=D7jmMG5ojL4

Just to compound Vuc’s misery further, the refs also called a foul on the play and made it an and-1 opportunity. The Knicks outscored the Bulls 32-31 in Q3 to go into the 4th with a lead. The game was close throughout the 48 minutes, going right down to the wire. Chicago came up with the fight back and won the game right at the end thanks to Demar DeRozan. DeRozan is often the answer for Chicago in the clutch and he once again called game.

Though the Knicks lost, RJ had a monster game putting up 44 points, in 39 minutes. The performance adds to a nice 10-game stretch for the Knicks forward who is averaging 24.8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists and that has guided New York to an 8-2 record in those 10 games. The Knicks will look to bounce back in their next game against the 76ers.

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Production from Barrett, Randle & Brunson is fueling the Knicks

Production from Barrett, Randle & Brunson is fuelling the Knicks
RJ Barrett, Jalen Brunson & Julius Randle

The New York Knicks are in 6th place in the East. With an 18-15 record, they are above the likes of Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, and Chicago who were all teams that had a higher over/under line than New York during preseason. After the relatively slow start, stars Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett and Julius Randle seem to have found a groove playing together.

Starting off 10-13, in the last 10 games the Knicks are 8-2. That record is good enough for the 2nd best in the league in that time frame, behind only city rivals Brooklyn Nets. It is the aforementioned trio that is at the forefront of this run of form. Over the last 10 games they have averaged;
Randle: 26.1 PPG/11.7 RPG/4 APG
Barrett: 24.8 PPG/6 RPG/2.9 APG
Brunson: 18.2 PPG/2.6 RPG/ 6.6 APG

New York City is the place to be right now if you’re a basketball fan. Both teams in the city are good simultaneously for the first time ever and over the recent stretch they look like the 2 best teams in the game. It’s a shame there won’t be a Knicks-Nets Christmas day game, but the next meeting will surely be a must-watch game. The Knicks in the meantime will be focused on returning to form after 2 straight losses.

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