Pascal Siakam on Monday night scored a season-high 39 points and the Toronto Raptors overcame a 23-point deficit to beat the Washington Wizards 111-107.
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.”
Photo: AP
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 the San Antonio Spurs 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 minutes, 47 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter, but did not 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 on Sunday lost 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 one 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.
“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.
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