Pascal Siakam leads Raptors over Wizards
FILE – Fred VanVleet #23 celebrates with Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors during the first half of their NBA game against the Brooklyn Nets at Scotiabank Arena on November 7, 2021 in Toronto, Canada. Cole Burston/Getty Images/AFP
Pascal Siakam scored 17 of his 31 points in the second quarter and the Toronto Raptors went on to defeat the visiting Washington Wizards 102-90 Sunday night.
Precious Achiuwa chipped in with 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors, who have won two in a row.
Toronto has won two of three from Washington this season.
Chris Boucher contributed 14 points off the bench for Toronto. Scottie Barnes added 11 points and six rebounds for the Raptors, who are 4-8 at home, and Fred VanVleet scored 10 points.
3rd straight game holding the opponent under 100 pts
Game Highlights | @TangerineHoops
Watch: https://t.co/J5ZdNrZVIX pic.twitter.com/dV7JpmmPre
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) December 6, 2021
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 10 of his 26 points in the third quarter for the Wizards, who have lost two in a row. Bradley Beal added 14 points and Montrezl Harrell had six points and 14 rebounds for Washington.
The Raptors, who led by as many as 25 points in the second quarter, led by 16 after the third. Harrell’s tip layup cut the lead to 15 with 10:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. Spencer Dinwiddie’s layup whittled the advantage to 12 with 6:55 to play.
Siakam made two free throws with 5:33 to go, which increased the lead to 17. After the Wizards got to within 14, Siakam hit a 12-footer with 3:37 to play.
The Wizards could get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Toronto led 23-12 after the first quarter.
The Raptors opened the second period with an 11-2 run completed by Dalano Banton’s layup with 8:57 remaining. Siakam’s 3-pointer with 4:59 left increased the lead to 25. Caldwell-Pope ended the first half scoring with two free throws, but Toronto led 63-42.
Siakam had 24 first-half points, shooting 8-for-13 from the field.
24 points at the half for Pascal Siakam 🔥
Watch on League Pass: https://t.co/5QqkBhf1W0 pic.twitter.com/Z4Vn7sj0Z0
— NBA (@NBA) December 6, 2021
Caldwell-Pope scored seven points for Washington to cap a 9-3 surge and trim the lead to 17 points with 6:51 remaining in the third quarter. The lead was reduced to 12 on Raul Neto’s 3-pointer with 3:41 left. Barnes responded with four straight points to complete the third-quarter scoring and give Toronto an 84-68 lead.
The Raptors were without OG Anunoby (hip pointer) and Khem Birch (knee).
