Siakam scores season-high 39, Raptors overcome 23-point deficit to beat Wizards
TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored a season-high 39 points and the Toronto Raptors overcame a 23-point deficit to beat the Washington Wizards 111-107 on Monday night.
Siakam sparked Toronto’s comeback with 22 points in the third quarter. He finished with 11 rebounds.
“He drove us all the way,” Raptors forward Chris Boucher said. “It shows how competitive he is, but also how much he cares about this team.”
The Raptors overcame a 20-point deficit to win for the second time in eight days. Toronto battled back from a 22-point hole to beat San Antonio in overtime on Nov. 5.
“Every time you come back in a game down 20, it’s amazing,” Boucher said. “Definitely happy with the win, but we don’t want any games like that.”
Washington’s Kyle Kuzma scored a season-high 34 points but turned the ball over out of bounds after Siakam’s late basket gave Toronto its first lead since the opening quarter.
Washington led 107-95 with 5:47 left to play in the fourth quarter but didn’t score again. The Wizards missed their final 10 shots from the field.
“We were able to get rim attempts,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “You can’t really buy a better shot than that.”
The Wizards lost Sunday in Brooklyn, giving up a late 15-0 run after they led by five. Washington has lost seven of eight.
Scottie Barnes scored 19 points, Jakob Poeltl had 13 and Precious Achiuwa added 10 as the Raptors won their third straight over Washington.
Toronto’s Dennis Schroder shot 1 for 12 from the field but made a pair of key free throws with two seconds left to seal the win. Schroder finished with four points.
Daniel Gafford and Jordan Poole each scored 14 points for Washington while Tyus Jones, Corey Kispert and Bilal Coulibaly had 10.
Boucher dunked with 2:59 left in the fourth to make it 107-103, and Barnes cut the gap to two points with a driving basket with 1:29 remaining.
Barnes stole Deni Avdija’s errant pass and fed Boucher for the game-tying basket with 51 seconds left, leading to a Wizards timeout.
Kuzma’s four-point play in the final seconds of the first half gave Washington a 64-45 edge at the break.
“We ended up winning the game but, to be honest with you, I prefer not to dig a hole of 19 points at halftime,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said.
Toronto shot 0 for 6 from long range in the second quarter and had more shot clock violations (three) than made 3-pointers (two) in the opening half.
Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby was unavailable because of a cut finger on his right hand while guard Gary Trent Jr. sat for the second straight game because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
Anunoby cut himself working at home on Sunday’s off day. Former Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. started in Anunoby’s place.
Washington rested forward Danilo Galinari on the second night of a back-to-back, while former Raptor Delon Wright sat for the second straight game because of a sprained left knee. Wright left Friday’s loss to Charlotte and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Raptors: Host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
