Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) drives for the basket as Portland Trail Blazers centre Jusuf Nurkic (27) defends during second half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Jan. 8.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Pascal Siakam scored 27 points and the struggling Toronto Raptors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 117-105 on Sunday for their first win in four games.
Scottie Barnes finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Gary Trent Jr. had 19 points, Fred VanVleet and O.G. Anunoby chipped in with 14 apiece for the Raptors (17-23), who’ve won just six of their last 20 games.
Damian Lillard scored 34 points top the Trail Blazers (19-20), who’ve lost three in a row.
The Raptors – who’ve been plagued by lapses of intensity, and were coming off a pair of frantic fourth-quarter comebacks that still resulted in losses – played one of their most consistent games in a while. They led by 19 points in the third quarter and cruised into the fourth up 89-74.
But the Blazers clawed back, and when Lillard tipped in a shot with 6:17 to play, the basket slashed the difference to just three points, eliciting groans from the Scotiabank Arena crowd. VanVleet had them cheering again with back-to-back three-pointers that restored the lead to nine.
Anunoby drilled a three from in front of the Raptors bench after Trent stole the ball off Lillard for a 10-point lead with 3:04 to play. Anfernee Simons’ basket had the Blazers back within five with 1:40 to play, but Christian Koloko scored on a Siakam miss to all but seal the victory for Toronto.
The Blazers took an early six-point lead, but the Raptors went on a 25-4 run that straddled the first and second quarters. Koloko’s dunk at the end of the first put Toronto up 34-27 heading into the second.
Precious Achiuwa threw down an alley-oop dunk from Malachi Flynn early in the second for a 15-point advantage. They stretched it to 19 points on a step-back three-pointer from Trent at 7:14 in the quarter. But the Blazers replied with a 20-4 run of their own, slicing the difference to just three points a minute before halftime. Toronto took a 58-53 advantage into the break.
With VanVleet, Siakam and Anunoby on the bench for several minutes start the third quarter, Trent orchestrated a 16-7 run that put Toronto up by 16 points. Simons banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer and the Raptors took an 89-74 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Raptors honoured Trail Blazers rookie and London, Ont., native Shaedon Sharpe with a video tribute. The 19-year-old, who was the No. 7 pick in the June NBA draft, finished with three points in 14 minutes of action.
MR. 1,200 – “The Raptor” mascot participated in his 1,200th Raptors game on Sunday.
UP NEXT – The Raptor host the Charlotte Hornets in a pair of games Tuesday and Thursday, and then wrap up their season-long six-game homestand against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 14.