RJ Barrett takes Nikola Vucevic’s soul with holiday hammer slam

RJ Barrett has been playing good basketball for the New York Knicks during their recent improved play and on Friday against the Chicago Bulls, he threw down one of the top dunks of the season. Barrett caught the ball near the three-point line, attacked the basket, rose up and put Nikola Vucevic in a poster. In addition to the monster jam, Barrett was also fouled on the play giving him a chance at a continuation play.

The dunk was only the icing on the cake for RJ Barrett who ended up having a monster game. He finished with 44 points on 70 percent shooting from the field, a perfect 6-6 from the three-point line and 10-13 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. It wasn’t enough though as the Knicks lost to the Bulls at home after a game-winning shot from DeMar DeRozan.

Coming into Friday’s game, Barrett had been putting up 19.7 points per game, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 42.3 percent from the field, but only 30.9 percent from the three-point line. The past couple of seasons Barrett has been better at drawing contact and getting to the free-throw line. This season he is averaging around five and a half attempts from the stripe after getting to the line almost six times per game last season. This season he is shooting a career-best 76.1 percent from the free-throw line.

This was only the second career 40 point game for Barrett. He finished the game only two points shy of his career-high which is 46 points. He reached that mark last season also in a loss against the Miami Heat.