Raptors Clinch First Victory While Siakam Sits

Maybe an awful 2020 won’t come to an end on such a bad note for the after all.

It may have looked bleak at some points for the Toronto Raptors. Starting the season 0-3 and then squandering a double-digit lead to the New York Knicks on Thursday was certainly concerning. But for the first time this year, the Raptors put together an impressive fourth quarter, putting away the Knicks late to clinch their first win of the season, 100-83.

It all came without Pascal Siakam who was benched Thursday night for disciplinary reasons, according to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange. The decision to bench Siakam was reportedly made early in the day after the 27-year-old fouled out and walked off the court in Toronto’s 100-93 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.

Without Siakam, Norman Powell stepped into the starting lineup and appeared to find his grove for the first time all year. He came out of the gate looking like his old self, attacking the hoop with the kind of aggression he’s become known for. His impressive 17-point night continued a trend of Powell playing well as a starter. He averaged 18.7 points per game in 26 starts last season compared to 13.2 points per game in 26 games off the bench.

Prior to the game Nurse said he was thinking about tinkering with his lineup against the Knicks and did he ever. Toronto went 10 deep until garbage time with Stanley Johnson, Alex Len, Terence Davis, and Stanley Johnson all seeing minutes while Matt Thomas and DeAndre’ Bembry sat. Despite some hints that Malachi Flynn would see some playing time, Nurse continued to sit the Raptors rookie.

While the Raptors certainly looked as coherent as they have all season, they were certainly helped out by some woeful shooting from the Knicks who went 3-for-30 from behind the arc. Canadian RJ Barrett, in particular, struggled from deep, shooting 0-for-6 from 3-point range.

Alex Len Can Shoot?

When Alex Len spoke to the media for the first time in early December he said he’d proven he could shoot the 3. It was a strange comment coming from the 7-foot centre who averaged 0.3 3-pointers per game last season and shot 27.1% from behind the arc. Yet if Thursday night was indicative of his actual shooting ability, maybe he can.

He nailed three 3-pointer in the game, coming off the bench in the second half to score 11 points for Toronto.

Up Next: New Orleans Pelicans

The Raptors will open the new year on January 2 when they hit the road to take on the New Orleans Pelicans at 7:30 p.m. It’ll be a rematch of the season opener in which Toronto lost 113-99 to New Orleans.