Raptors veterans VanVleet and Siakam carry load in win over Pistons

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It was a much-needed bounce-back day on Super Bowl Sunday for the Raptors and they turned to their trusted vets to get there.

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Following a late fourth-quarter meltdown that cost them a winnable game against an undermanned Jazz team on Friday, the Raptors regrouped Sunday, got started early riding Fred VanVleet’s shooting and then brought it home on the capable shoulders of Pascal Siakam for a workmanlike 119-118 win.

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VanVleet came out of the gate firing with 16 points in the first quarter on his way to a 35-point night, his third 30-plus game in the past six.

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Siakam struggled early on to find the range with just six points in the first half on 2-of-9 shooting.

He picked it up in the second half with an 8-for-10 second half on his way to 28 points.

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“You had two championship players right there that carried them home with Pascal and Freddie,” Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said. “They were the difference in the game. They carried the team; they did a great job. We tried to double team but Pascal did a great job of going to work even before the double team could get there. Fred set the tone for them early by making some tough threes.”

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VanVleet’s season has been anything but consistent, particularly his shooting, which has been back to form of late.

“Yeah, probably a combination of a lot of things,” VanVleet said, speaking specifically of his three-point shooting, an area he was 6-for-13 in Sunday. “Just staying locked in, keep working, getting my legs under me, finding ways to get the shots. I think I had to adjust to the way the defence was playing me and the way we were playing offensively.

“And today, being able to get three catching shoots right off the gate, I think that helps a lot,” he said. “Depends game to game, it’s not always going to go my way, but have to take advantage when I get the chance to.”

Outside of Siakam and VanVleet, the only other Raptor to surpass 15 points in this one was Scottie Barnes, who got to the free throw line 10 times in the game and finished with 20 including a big three in the final two minutes with the Pistons threatening.

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It still came down to a nail biter with the Pistons closing to within a three-pointer with 10.1 seconds remaining when Jaden Ivey hit a step-back three.

Toronto called a timeout before the ensuring in bounds moving the ball up to the Detroit side of the court where the Pistons were forced to foul VanVleet. VanVleet hit both to seal the game.

Detroit did hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it that much closer.

The fourth quarter defensive issues that cost them the game Friday night almost came back and bit them in the butt in this one. Bojan Bogdanovic had 22 of his Pistons-high 33 points in the second half and 12 of those in the fourth quarter.

The Pistons managed to put up 41 in that final quarter making the Raptors sweat this one out right to the final whistle.

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SOME FAMILIAR FACES ABSENT

The Raptors had a bit of a different look to them for their Sunday matinee with the Pistons.

Head coach Nick Nurse, who was away for personal reasons from practice on Saturday, remained away from the team, turning the reigns over to lead assistant Adrian Griffin.

Also missing Sunday was Gary Trent Jr., who sat out the game with a left calf strain. It was unclear when or how Trent was injured.

PINING FOR THAT BENCH MOB

There’s no question that after consecutive seasons of not-enough from the bench, a focus this off-season with the Raptors will be finding or developing some depth so not all the onus is on the starters.

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Casey, now the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, was in that role in Toronto when the club developed possibly its best ever bench with then youngsters Siakam, VanVleet, Delon Wright, Norm Powell and Jakob Poeltl spending most of an entire off-season together honing their craft.

The move paid immediate dividends as that group along with veteran C.J. Miles gave their own starters a run for their money and then owned opposing benches.

It was another time when that group came together, but Casey believes you could do it again giving the proper mix.

“It can,” Casey said. “It’s identity. It’s getting a group and an identity. They took off with it. It’s Fred, Delon Wright, Pascal. They took pride in it. What people probably don’t remember is they used to kick Kyle (Lowry and the rest of the starters’) butt every day in practice. It helped create their identity. It helped make that team a good team.”

The key was finding a group that was both young and supremely motivated.

“You can do it with young players,” Casey said. “Probably harder to do it with guys who have been in the league six, seven, eight years. But at that time, they caught lightning in a bottle with Fred, Pascal, kind of had a chip on his shoulder because Serge (Ibaka) had taken his place. They took pride in that.”

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