Raptors make it back-to-back wins behind big night from Pascal Siakam

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Pascal Siakam had a big night in the Raptors win over Washington

For the first time in over a month, the Toronto Raptors have won back-to-back games, handling the Washington Wizards by a final score of 102-90 at Scotiabank Arena.

The consecutive wins at home provide welcome relief after a scratchy start to the team's return to Canada.

Catch up on all that and more with some thoughts from an impressive performance against a Washington team that has been turning heads to start the season. 

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1. Siakam explodes for monster night

After missing the first 10 games of the season, it appears Siakam is finding his comfort level.

Pouring in 31 points on 10-for-21 shooting from the floor, Siakam continued his strong scoring form of late.

"Just going through the grind every day," Siakam said in a walk-off interview. 

"That's all I'm worried about, every single day. Sometimes there will be tough nights, but I wake up every day and go out and give everything I have and I'm ok with that."

The big night marked his eighth consecutive game of 15-plus points and fell just one shy of his season-high.

2. Barnes settles things down

Heading into the halftime break with a commanding 63-42 lead, Toronto appeared to be in cruise control.

During the third period, the Wizards were able to score efficiently inside and out, cutting the gap to 12 with two minutes to play.

Out of a timeout, Scottie Barnes settled things for Toronto with back-to-back jumpers to quell Washington's run.

It's not the first time Barnes has come up big in important moments this season, as he continues to show the remarkable composure of a veteran despite his NBA career only being weeks old.

Barnes was his usual productive self overall, tallying 11 points, six rebounds and a block.

3. Homecourt advantage returns?

Less than a week ago, I wrote about the Raptors' struggles at home.

Since then, they have beaten the Milwaukee Bucks and now the Wizards in a welcome return to form at Scotiabank Arena.

"Obviously we've been losing at home but we take it to heart. We come out here every day and try to get wins," Siakam said.

With winnable games against Oklahoma City, New York and Sacramento left on this homestand, the Raptors have a good chance to gain some ground in the postseason race.

After tonight's result, Toronto is one game behind Atlanta for the final Play-In Tournament seed.

4. Fred's quiet night

Depending on whether you are half glass full or empty, the ability to lean on a variety of players on any given night continues to be this team's calling card.

Against Milwaukee last time out, it was VanVleet who led the team to victory. Tonight, the lead guard was subdued on the stat sheet.

VanVleet finished with 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting in 33 minutes.

Perhaps the positive was the fact he was able to limit his minutes in a win, with the 33 minutes down on his league-leading 38.3 per night he is averaging.

5. Wizards sliding?

One of the surprise teams to start the season, Washington has hit a bit of a rough patch.

Going 4-6 over their last 10 entering tonight, the Wizards are now 14-10 on the season after the loss to Toronto.

Bradley Beal's quiet start to the season continued, with the star guard registering just 14 points on 4-for-12 shooting. Beal is averaging 22.3 points per game across the season, well down on his 31.3 points per game in 2020-21 that was second only to Stephen Curry. 

Washington has a difficult stretch in the schedule to come, with Denver, Phoenix, Brooklyn and two games against Utah all on tap in the next eight games.

6. The Banton-Boucher connection

Raps social said it best.

Here is some good ol' fashion Canadian content:

Banton dished out six assists in his 15 minutes, while Boucher recorded 14 points and six boards in 18 minutes to lead a strong bench performance. 

7. Getting defensive

Despite having the 23rd ranked defence coming into the night, recent performances suggest Nick Nurse's squad is starting to find its groove on that end of the floor.

Holding Washington to just 90 points, it was the third straight game their opponent has failed to top the 100-point mark. Prior to this stretch, that had only been achieved twice across the season so far. 

"We know we have the personnel. We have guys that can switch and move and guard a lot of positions," Siakam said of the defence. 

"We just have to be consistent doing it and I think we all know that. We have to stay on each other, work hard and know that we have to bring that effort every single day."

On a roster where the offence can be hard to come by in stretches, finding that consistency on the other end of the floor is critical for the success of the team.  

8. Wait continues for OG

This game marked the ninth straight missed for OG Anunoby, who continues to recover from a hip pointer injury.

Averaging 20.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, the 2021-22 season was shaping up to be the breakout season Raptors fans have been hoping for. 

Khem Birch also missed the game against Washington with right knee swelling.

9. What's next?

The Raptors are back in action at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 8, taking on Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

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