Siakam narrowly falls short of double-double as Raptors rout Pistons | CBC Sports

Pascal Siakam had a game-high 32 points and nine assists and the Toronto Raptors dominated the Detroit Pistons en route to a 118-97 win on Friday night.

Chris Boucher added 19 points and 13 rebounds off the bench and Fred VanVleet poured in 18 points for Toronto (36-38), which ended its two-game skid.

It was the Raptors’ first season sweep of the Pistons since the 2017-18 campaign. Toronto also improved to 7-0 on the year when holding its opponents to under 100 points.

Toronto moved within half a game of Atlanta for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with eight games remaining in the regular season.

The Raptors, who entered Friday averaging an NBA-leading 9.3 steals per game had seven of their 12 steals in the first half.

WATCH | Siakam’s 32-point night powers Raptors past Pistons:

Siakam leads Raptors to a big win over Pistons

Pascal Siakam dropped 32 points and Chris Boucher added another 19 as the Toronto Raptors defeated Detroit Pistons 118-97.

O.G. Anunoby kick-started a 7-0 Toronto run with a three-pointer and Will Barton capped it with a fast-break layup after a VanVleet steal to put the Raptors ahead 17-7 with 7:45 left in the first quarter.

Thirty-five seconds later, Barton hit a corner three to increase the lead. Toronto went 5-of-7 from three-point range up to that point and closed the frame up 38-26.

The Pistons trimmed the deficit early in the second with a 7-2 run, only for Siakam to foil their momentum. The all-star forward scored seven of his 26 first-half points in a 9-2 Toronto run that followed.

Anunoby’s 18-foot jumper with 2:03 left in the third gave the Raptors their largest lead of the night to that point at 22 points, and went into the fourth with a 92-73 edge.

Boucher scored five points in an 8-3 Toronto run early to make it a 104-77 game. The Montreal native had an emphatic put back dunk over Pistons centre Jalen Duren after a Siakam miss and hit the free throw after. Boucher then blocked Duren, and two possessions later, hit a three-pointer.

Detroit failed to get within 19 points of the Raptors throughout the frame.