NBA: Pascal Siakam propels Raptors past Pistons

Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors comes off the floor after his team defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in their basketball game at the Scotiabank Arena on November 28, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mark Blinch/Getty Images/AFP

Pascal Siakam compiled 32 points, nine assists and five rebounds as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Detroit Pistons 118-97 on Friday night.

Chris Boucher added 19 points off the bench for the Raptors (36-38), who have split the first two games of a four-game homestand.

Toronto swept the four-game season series with the Pistons (16-58).

Fred VanVleet scored 18 points for the Raptors, who had a seven-game home winning streak end with a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. O.G. Anunoby contributed 17 points for Toronto, and Jakob Poeltl had four points and 11 rebounds.

YESSSSIIIRRRRRR

Got back-to-back dunks for y’all ⤵️ https://t.co/MAKjPJiI90 pic.twitter.com/vVd11n1jel

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 25, 2023

Jaden Ivey had 20 points and eight assists for the Pistons, who have lost 16 of their past 17 games. Marvin Bagley III had 14 points and nine rebounds for Detroit, James Wiseman also scored 14 points, R.J. Hampton had 13 points and Isaiah Livers scored 12 points.

Toronto took a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Boucher hit a 3-pointer to give the Raptors a 104-77 edge with 8:33 to play.

After being up 16 points, Toronto led 38-26 after one quarter.

SIAKAM SLAM ???? pic.twitter.com/RtNKa0wDCh

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 25, 2023

Detroit trimmed the margin to seven points, but Toronto opened it up to 15 on Jeff Dowtin Jr.’s 3-pointer with 6:13 remaining in the second quarter. Anunoby bumped the gap to 20 on a 3-pointer with 2:07 left.

Detroit scored the next four points, and Toronto responded with four straight to lead 72-52 at halftime.

Siakam had 26 points in the first half, during which the Raptors shot 53.3 percent (24-for-45) from the field.

Detroit shot 46.2 percent (18-for-39) from the field in the first half with Bagley scoring 14 points.

Detroit opened the third quarter with a 7-2 spurt. Poeltl’s steal led to Siakam’s layup that gave Toronto a 21-point lead with 5:33 left in the third. Toronto was up by as many as 22 before leading 92-73 after three quarters.

Overall, Detroit outshot Toronto 46.6 percent to 44.6 percent, though the Raptors were better from 3-point range (13 of 37, 35.1 percent, to the Pistons’ 6 of 25, 24 percent).

Scottie Barnes (wrist), Precious Achiuwa (hamstring) and Gary Trent Jr. (elbow) did not play for Toronto.

Cory Joseph (illness) and Rodney McGruder (foot) were out for Detroit.

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