Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Raptors Take Care of Business as Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl Prove too Much for Pistons
For weeks now the Toronto Raptors have preached hard work.
Something had been missing earlier in the year. The effort that had come to define this organization was far too inconsistent and the coaching staff responded by scheduling more practices than ever before under head coach Nick Nurse. It’s been relentless but lately, it’s paid off.
The Raptors are finally taking care of business. After far too many silly slipups against undermanned and underperforming teams, Toronto is showing the workman-like approach the organization is known for. Yes, they toyed with the Detroit Pistons for far too long, but eventually, the Raptors woke up, escaping with a 95-91 victory, their fourth straight and seventh in their last eight games.
It's been over a decade since the Raptors had their last noon start and it was pretty clear why they’re so rare in the NBA. It took nearly 44 minutes for Toronto to bring the energy Saturday.
Eventually, though, the Raptors went to the old bench mob duo, using the Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl two-man game in crunch time. Detroit simply had no answers for Poellt in the high post, as Siakam found his old pal at the free-throw line before Toronto’s big man returned the favor, dishing it right back to Siakam for a pair of wide-open layups late in the fourth.
The Pistons had chances to respond but Toronto’s defense clamped down and Siakam iced it at the free-throw line, making up for a lackluster night at the charity stripe for the Raptors with four straight buckets from the line to avoid disaster.
If not for Siakam, things could have gotten very ugly. The All-Star forward was the only one generating buckets early, beating the Pistons in transition and getting into the paint for 18 of his 29 points before halftime.
He righted the ship for Toronto late in the third quarter, first finding Gary Trent Jr. behind the arc with a kick-out pass from the high post when Detroit doubled him. He dropped Isaiah Livers to the ground with an ankle-breaking shimmy shake that resulted in an And-1 bucket. He then capped off the 11-2 run by swatting away a Bojan Bogdanović layup, sending Precious Achiuwa in transition to put Toronto up one heading into the fourth.
Detroit didn’t make it easy on Toronto, especially in the first half as they beat the Raptors at their own game, dominating the possession battle by 13 shot attempts before the break. Toronto couldn’t contain Marvin Bagley III who snagged 11 offensive boards, finishing the night with 21 points and 18 rebounds, spurring Detroit to a six-point second-quarter lead against Toronto's struggling second unit.
Trent didn’t have a pretty night by any means, but eight points in the third quarter en route to a 19-point showing gave Toronto just enough juice to keep things close before Siakam took over late.
With the victory, Toronto moves a half-game back of the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth seed in the East and 3.5 games back of the Miami Heat for the seventh seed.
Up Next: Cleveland Cavaliers
The Raptors will be right back at it Sunday evening in a measuring-stick game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 6 p.m. ET.
