Pascal Siakam scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard added 26 as the Toronto Raptors continued their preparation for the postseason with a 115-105 victory over the host Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.
The Raptors (56-23), who will likely be the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, won their fifth straight thanks to their starting frontcourt duo.
Siakam hit 11 of 21 from the floor, including three 3-pointers, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out five assists. Leonard made 11 of 25 and added nine rebounds as the Raptors won despite shooting 41.9 percent.
Serge Ibaka tied a career-high with five 3-pointers and contributed 23 points and 12 rebounds off the bench as the Raptors made 15 of 38 (39.5 percent) 3-pointers and beat the Nets for the 15th time in the last 16 meetings.
The Nets (39-40) lost for the seventh time in 10 games and missed a chance to move into sixth place past Detroit, which lost to Indiana. Instead, the Nets are tied with Orlando for the final two playoff spots in the East -- a half-game behind the Pistons -- after the Magic defeated the Knicks Wednesday and Miami fell to Boston.
D'Angelo Russell led the Nets with 27 points and scored 18 in the fourth when the Nets tried to mount a late charge. Spencer Dinwiddie added 14 for Brooklyn, which committed 14 turnovers, shot 47.7 percent and took 19 fewer shots than Toronto.
The Nets trailed 90-78 entering the fourth and made their charge early in the quarter.
Russell scored nine straight Brooklyn points and Allen converted a putback with 6:41 remaining to get the Nets within 96-91. Nearly three minutes later, the Raptors restored their double-digit lead at 107-96 on two free throws by Ibaka.
The Nets continued to be within striking distance and were within 110-105 when Russell made a difficult 3-pointer from the top of the key while shaking off contact with 84 seconds left. On Toronto's next trip, Siakam missed a short jumper and Ibaka converted the putback with 1:12 left.
The Nets still had chances in the final minute but Russell and Joe Harris missed 3-point attempts. Following an offensive foul by Leonard, the Nets had another chance but Fred VanVleet stripped Russell before the midcourt line with 35.9 seconds left and Toronto iced the game at the line.
Toronto missed 10 of its first 11 shots but recovered to take a 34-22 lead after the opening quarter when Ibaka hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the corner. The Raptors took a 13-point lead midway through the second and held a 57-50 lead at halftime.
--Field Level Media
Toronto | Brooklyn | |
Pascal Siakam 28 | Scoring | D'Angelo Russell 27 |
Marc Gasol 6 | Assists | D'Angelo Russell 6 |
Serge Ibaka 12 | Rebounds | Jarrett Allen 9 |
Kawhi Leonard 4 | Free Throws Made | DeMarre Carroll 5 |
Marc Gasol 4 | Steals | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 1 |
Danny Green 1 | Blocks | Jarrett Allen 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Toronto | 115 | 41.9 | 15-38 | 12-14 | 29 | 52 | 1 | 9 | 7 |
Brooklyn | 105 | 47.7 | 10-32 | 13-21 | 23 | 53 | 2 | 3 | 16 |