Raptors set franchise record after rallying to beat Kings

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings led the Toronto Raptors by as many as 19 points in the first quarter Friday night at Golden 1 Center. They looked up to find themselves trailing by 24 in the fourth.

Fred VanVleet scored 34 points to help the Raptors snap a threegame losing streak with a 144-123 victory over the Kings. Toronto set a franchise record for most points scored in a regulation game.

Chris Boucher and Pascal Siakam recorded double-doubles for the Raptors (2-6), who were missing All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry because of personal reasons. Boucher finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Siakam flirted with a triple-double, posting 17 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. Norman Powell scored 22.

De’Aaron Fox scored 23 points to lead the Kings (4-5). Harrison Barnes had 21 points and tied his career high with eight assists. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton came off the bench to post 15 points and seven assists. Buddy Hield had 15 points and six assists.

The Kings made 17 of 21 (.810) from the field and 6 of 8 (.750) from 3-point range during a sizzling first quarter. They led by 19 after Hield made a 3-pointer to put them up 40-21 with 3:09 to play in the opening period, but the Raptors cut the deficit to eight going into the second quarter. Toronto took the lead on a basket by Siakam with 5:43 to go in the half, but the Kings carried a 74-71 advantage into the break.

The teams traded leads in the third quarter until the Raptors

staged an 8-0 run to go up by seven. They led 111-103 at the end of the third, went up by 16 on a 3-pointer by Terence Davis and took their largest lead of the game when OG Anunoby scored to put them up 135111 in the fourth.

The Kings shot 56.8% from the field and made 15 of 34 (.441) from 3-point range, but the Raptors shot 58.2% and made 20 of 39 (.513) from beyond the arc.

“Clearly, we’ve got to start taking some more pride on the defensive end,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “That’s another game where guys really got whatever they wanted.”