Leonard unloads on Pelicans, with assist from Siakam, Lowry
Early in the first quarter of Friday’s 127-104 win over New Orleans, Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard stole the ball at the Pelicans’ end, rifled a full-court pass to Pascal Siakam, then sprinted toward the opposite hoop.
Siakam made a quick pass to Kyle Lowry, who sent a behindthe-back bounce pass to Leonard, who arrived in time to collect the ball and throw down the dunk that tied the game.
The play also served as a metaphor for a Raptors club still searching for consistency as the post-season approaches. Siakam is improving and the veteran Lowry ties it all together, but success begins and ends with a well-rested, load-managed Leonard.
Leonard scored 14 of the Raptors’ first 23 points, and finished the first half with 24. By the final buzzer, Leonard had totalled 31 points in just 27 minutes.
The challenge for the Raptors, as they head for the second stop on a three-game road trip and prep for a final push to the playoffs, is finding the right combination of players to complement Leonard’s brilliance. Friday night, head coach Nick Nurse deployed his 17th different starting lineup of the season, inserting Marc Gasol at centre and bringing in Serge Ibaka off the bench.
Toronto’s win evens the season series at 1-1. The Pelicans outclassed the Raptors 126-110 when they visited Toronto in November, but lined up Friday without several key pieces. Starting point guard Jrue Holi- day sat out with an abdominal injury, while guard E’Twaun Moore missed the game with a thigh injury. All-star forward Anthony Davis abused the Raptors for 25 points and 20 rebounds in November, but was out with a lower back strain this time.
á Downtown I: The Raptors missed 10 of their first 11 threepoint attempts, a slow start for a club that averaged 11.6 made threes per game entering Friday. They finished the first half 3-for-16 from deep.
á Downtown II: Lowry drilled his first three-pointer midway through the second quarter to put the Raptors up 48-45. Tuesday night against Houston, the all-star point guard went 0for-5 from deep, marking the first time since Dec. 9 that he had played a whole game without making a three-point shot.
á Downtown III: Backup point guard Jeremy Lin entered Friday riding a well-publicized threepoint slump. Since joining the Raptors in mid-February, the 30-year-old Harvard grad had gone 0-for-17 from deep. But 11 minutes into the third quarter Lin broke that streak, drilling a trey that put Toronto up by 14.
á Attendance woes: If you noticed a lot of empty seats, and Raptors fans in the stands, during Friday’s TV broadcast from the Smoothie King Center, neither occurrence was a coincidence. Where the Raptors’ average home attendance of 19,819 actually exceeds Scotiabank Arena’s official capacity, the Pelicans rank in the bottom third of the league in several attendance categories. Their average home crowd entering Friday was 15,487, which ranked 24th in the league and left plenty of seats for Raptors fans willing to travel.
á Up next: The win sets the Raptors up to clinch a playoff spot Sunday afternoon in Miami, 3:30 p.m. start.