John Leyba-USA TODAY Sports
Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, & the Raptors' Bench Defy the Odds in Victory Over Nuggets
All the Toronto Raptors needed was a trip out West.
Things looked pretty bleak there for a little while in Toronto. A pair of losses to the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons put a damper on what's been an otherwise impressive season. But when the Raptors needed to right the ship, they responded, knocking off the Phoenix Suns on Friday and bouncing right back for a 127-115 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday to pull within one game of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
"It shows our fight. We're relentless, and we just want to continue to compete and get better as a team," Pascal Siakam said. "These games are important. We've got to come in with a focus and an intensity. And we know when we do that, we always give ourselves a good chance to be in the game against any team."
1. Siakam Carries Raptors Without VanVleet
The Nuggets simply had no answer for Siakam. Even without Fred VanVleet to space the floor for Toronto's former All-Star, Siakam repeatedly got into the teeth of Denver's defense, either getting to the rim or pulling up with his close-range floater. He started off the game with a pull-up three-pointer and never let up, leading the Raptors with a game-high 33 points before handing things over to Toronto's shockingly effective bench in the fourth quarter.
2. Barnes Quarterbacking Raptors in Transition
While Siakam did the bulk of the heavy lifting in the half-court, Scottie Barnes continued to wow in transition. Every night he seems to throw a pass that just defies belief. Usually, it's a no-look pass that he somehow nails with pinpoint precision at a shockingly efficient rate. On Saturday, however, it was his quarterback skills. He sent Siakam flying in transition with an Aaron Rodgers-esque deep ball for the score.
"I haven't had those since my rookie year," Siakam joked. "It felt good. It was a good pass."
Barnes then whizzed a skip pass across the arc to find Siakam for three as Denver scrambled in transition.
When the passing lanes were filled, Barnes took it himself. He fooled DeMarcus Cousins off the dribble with a spinning hook shot in the first quarter. A quarter later, he drove end-to-end in transition, split a pair of Nugget defenders for two of his 25 points.
"We did a good job of clearing some space for him, I thought. Once he broke the free throw line, he wasn't beating his man but he was just maneuvering his way close enough to shoot over the top. Really good decisions," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "Those are those aren't easy baskets, but that's kind of his game is to shoot, you know, again, a little quirky on those."
In the second half, he again played facilitator, finding Precious Achiuwa for a pair of three-pointers en route to a career-high 10 assist night for the rookie.
3. Achiuwa Proves He Should Continue to Start
The Raptors decided to shake things up a little bit pre-game, opting to start Achiuwa over Khem Birch and use Armoni Brooks, the team's recent 10-day contract signee, in the backcourt to replace VanVleet. It was a surprising decision from Nurse who said he was hoping Achiuwa's defense would slow down Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and Brooks' floor spacing could make up for VanVleet's absence.
It was a "gamble," Nurse said, but it paid off. Achiuwa, who was stout defensively, continued to impress on the offensive end. He's no longer the chaotic mess he was earlier in the year. Instead, he's showing a decisiveness, either driving to the rim aggressively or going up with his suddenly surging three-point stroke.
"Whatever has gotten into him since the all-star break he has certainly been more decisive out there," Nurse said. "He’s running out there and he’s catching and shooting fairly quickly which means he’s feeling confident. And I’m good with that. What I want him to do is make a decision really quickly – shoot it or drive it or pass it. When he pump fakes or hesitates or dribbles it in the same spot, starts spinning around, then we don’t know what’s going to happen. He’s got some levels up to go still, but he is confidently shooting it and he’s hitting enough of a percentage to stay out there and space the floor."
At one point, Achiuwa even passed up an open swing pass to Gary Trent Jr. to call his own number, draining one of his career-high four three-pointers Saturday night. It was a somewhat questionable decision but turned out to be the right one for the 22-year-old who is shooting 50% from behind the arc over his last 12 games.
4. Bench Stars for Raptors Late
Toronto's starters put the Raptors in a position to hang around early, but it was the bench that really proved decisive for Toronto. Chris Boucher was phenomenal, swallowing nine offensive rebounds as he, Dalano Banton, Thad Young, Birch, and Barnes turned a three-point fourth-quarter deficit into an eight-point lead that Toronto never relinquished.
"Man did they have a run. It didn't feel very good the first two minutes and 30 seconds and I was antsy to maybe bring Gary or some shooting back in but then they really dominated," Nurse said. "They were all three really tough on the glass and then I thought Scottie made some timely just kind of ISO moves right down the lane and used the size."
Boucher finished the night with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and knocked down the game-sealing three-pointer to put Toronto up 10 with two minutes to go.
"It’s just five guys playing hard and trying to help each other," he said of the bench's stellar play. "That’s one thing we do good: Everybody, one through 15, plays hard every time and is ready to play. Even though it doesn’t look good every time, we try hard, try to make something happen.”
5. Trent's Shooting Funk Returns
Gary Trent Jr. is an incredible secondary or tertiary scorer on a very good team, but it's clear he's not quite the same without VanVleet attracting attention and opening up the floor for him. It's not surprising. Most players can't create at that All-Star level, but the past few games have certainly shown the difference VanVleet makes.
After a 42-point performance Friday night alongside VanVleet, Trent fell into a rut again Saturday night, shooting just 2-for-13 from the field. In Trent's five previous games without VanVleet, he shot 27.2% from the floor, the worst stretch of his season.
Up Next: L.A. Lakers
The Raptors will have the day off before heading to Los Angeles for a date with LeBron James and the Lakers on Monday at 10:30 p.m. ET.
