Pascal Siakam made his return to Toronto to take on his former team the Raptors.
The Raptors traded Siakam to the Pacers on Jan. 17 and as soon as the trade went down, this game was circled on the calendar.
It was a Valentine’s Day showdown as the Raptors and Pacers went down to the wire in a highly entertaining game.
Toronto got out to a hot start but Indiana stormed back. Both teams traded blows until the end.
Scottie Barnes, who received his commemorative All-Star basketball during pregame warm-ups, looked like an All-Star in this game. He had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists in 36 minutes of action. He bounced back in a big way after his off night against the San Antonio Spurs.
Meanwhile, Siakam got out to a slow start but finished with a team-high 23 points to go along with 7 assists and 5 rebounds. He hit a big bucket late to give the Pacers a three-point lead. Tyrese Haliburton ended the night with 21 points and 12 assists.
The Pacers led 127-125 when RJ Barrett had a chance to tie it at the end of regulation with a shot inside but missed.
Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said he called for a three-pointer on the final possession.
“Watching the film now, I think that the pass was probably there, but we just did not execute it the way we wanted,” Rajakovic said.
After a hot start, Barrett finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in 33 minutes of action.
This was a wild stretch for the Raptors. They opened a set of four straight home games last Friday on Feb. 9 by welcoming former Raptors guard Fred VanVleet back as they took on the Houston Rockets. Then they closed it out on Valentine’s Day in an emotional reunion with Siakam. The former Raptor was honored with a video tribute during pregame introductions. Raptors players applauded the two-time All-Star and the crowd gave Siakam a standing ovation.
Next on tap
The Raptors will now head into their All-Star break. The team won’t play again until Feb. 22 against the Brooklyn Nets.
However, Scottie Barnes will be in action at the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18 in Indiana.
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