Siakam scores 44 as Raptors rout Pelicans
Credit to Author: Agence France-Presse| Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2019 16:17:27 +0000
LOS ANGELES: Pascal Siakam equaled his career best with 44 points as the Toronto Raptors dominated in almost every aspect of the game and beat the New Orleans Pelicans 122-104 on Friday.
The Raptors scored the first 15 points of the second quarter for a 75-53 halftime lead to seize control of the game and improve to 6-2 on the season.
Siakam finished 17 of 28 from the floor and had 20 rebounds for the Raptors, who dominated despite missing guard Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka who were both injured.
Fred VanVleet had 12 points and 11 assists, and OG Anunoby contributed 21 points and seven rebounds.
Pelicans starting point guard Lonzo Ball struggled mightily against Toronto and did not play at all in the fourth quarter. Ball finished with five points and had four turnovers.
Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 27 points and Jrue Holiday added 16 points.
In the lopsided first half, the Raptors made 13 of 23 three-pointers and outscored the Pelicans 31-9 on fast-break points.
Heat loses playmaker Winslow to NBA concussion protocol
Miami Heat swingman Justise Winslow has been placed into the NBA’s concussion protocol and will be sidelined indefinitely, Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said.
Winslow missed Miami’s victory at Phoenix on Thursday with a headache after concussion symptoms began following a blow to his head in Tuesday’s loss at Denver.
The Heat, second in the Eastern Conference at 6-2, lost one of their top playmakers ahead of Friday’s game at the Los Angeles Lakers, who share the NBA’s best record with Boston at 6-1.
Winslow, 23, is averaging 13.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists in five games for the Heat, who have also been without standout Jimmy Butler for part of the early season campaign.
Winslow, the 10th overall selection of the 2015 NBA Draft, helped Duke University win the 2015 US college championship. He averaged career highs of 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists a game last season.
AFP