VanVleet, Siakam pace Raptors to 5th-straight win as rise in standings continues
Posted February 4, 2022 9:57 pm.
Last Updated February 4, 2022 11:41 pm.
The Toronto Raptors continued their impressive stretch with yet another victory on Friday, beating the surging Atlanta Hawks 125-114 at Scotiabank Arena.
Not an easy feat, considering it was Toronto’s fifth game in seven days and their second back-to-back this week. It didn’t matter, as Raptors starters again dominated, including Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, who finished with 33 and 26 points, respectively.
Siakam — who matched his season-high in points on Friday — is the second Raptors player in the past month to put up a 20-point quarter. VanVleet had 24 in the third quarter of a Jan. 7 home win over Utah. Siakam holds the Raptors record for points in a quarter, scoring 25 in the first quarter of a Jan. 26, 2020 win at San Antonio.
Rookie Scottie Barnes was equally clutch, chipping in a full stat line of 16 points to go along with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. One of the league’s hottest players of late, Gary Trent Jr. added 19 points on 3-5 shooting from three while Chris Boucher continued his solid play off the bench (11 points and 8 rebounds).
.@ScottBarnes561 AT THE BUZZER ???? pic.twitter.com/znZo6ivRLA
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 5, 2022
What makes the recent string of wins that much more remarkable is the opponents, as Toronto has now defeated Miami and Atlanta twice, and the Demar DeRozan-led Bulls on Thursday. The Heat and Bulls, it should be noted, are two of the Eastern Conference’s best teams.
The win propels the Raptors to seventh place in the conference as the sixth-place, Kevin Durant-less Brooklyn Nets, continue to struggle, entering Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz losers of six in a row.
Toronto (28-23) will have a few days off before travelling to play Charlotte on Monday.
