The Toronto Raptors extended their streak to six consecutive victories by beating Willie Green’s New Orleans Pelicans by a tight 101-105 in their fiefdom.
Fred VanVleet led the Canadian offense with 32 points, his second consecutive game reaching thirty points, and the sixth in his last eight games.
The Raptors guard hit an impressive 8 of 17 3-pointers, including a key one down the stretch that put them ahead 99-102 with 1:32 minutes to go.
“That’s what VanVleet has been doing lately, right?” Said rival coach Willie Green.
For his part, Pascal Siakam continues to improve his numbers and went up to 29 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists for some Raptors who have won in 10 of their last 12 games and are currently three games above 50% in wins -defeats (20-17).
After missing the first ten days of the regular season due to injury, Nick Nurse believes that Siakam has reached his game cap: “He is being much more aggressive and is better involving the rest of his teammates since he returned to the courts.”
For the Pelicans, who have lost four of their last five games, Brandon Ingram had 22 points, followed by Jonas Valanciunas for 20 points and 17 rebounds.
«We have endured in the game until the last seconds. We were good there. It is not an excuse, but we have to do better to close the matches. It hurts a lot to lose by three or four points, “explained Jonas Valanciunas.
(Cover photo: Cole Burston / Getty Images)