Siakam scores 27 as Raptors beat Trail Blazers for 1st win in 4 games | CBC Sports

Pascal Siakam scored 27 points and the struggling Toronto Raptors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 117-105 on Sunday for their first win in four games.

Scottie Barnes finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Gary Trent Jr. had 19 points, Fred VanVleet and O.G. Anunoby chipped in with 14 apiece for the Raptors (17-23), who’ve won just six of their last 20 games.

Damian Lillard scored 34 points top the Trail Blazers (19-20), who’ve lost three in a row.

But the Blazers clawed back, and when Lillard tipped in a shot with 6:17 to play, the basket slashed the difference to just three points, eliciting groans from the Scotiabank Arena crowd. VanVleet had them cheering again with back-to-back three-pointers that restored the lead to nine.

Anunoby drilled a three from in front of the Raptors bench after Trent stole the ball off Lillard for a 10-point lead with 3:04 to play. Anfernee Simons’ basket had the Blazers back within five with 1:40 to play, but Christian Koloko scored on a Siakam miss to all but seal the victory for Toronto.

The Blazers took an early six-point lead, but the Raptors went on a 25-4 run that straddled the first and second quarters. Koloko’s dunk at the end of the first put Toronto up 34-27 heading into the second.

Precious Achiuwa threw down an alley-oop dunk from Malachi Flynn early in the second for a 15-point advantage. They stretched it to 19 points on a step-back three-pointer from Trent at 7:14 in the quarter. But the Blazers replied with a 20-4 run of their own, slicing the difference to just three points a minute before halftime. Toronto took a 58-53 advantage into the break.

With VanVleet, Siakam and Anunoby on the bench for several minutes start the third quarter, Trent orchestrated a 16-7 run that put Toronto up by 16 points. Simons banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer and the Raptors took an 89-74 lead into the fourth quarter.

“The Raptor” mascot participated in his 1,200th Raptors game on Sunday.

The Raptor host the Charlotte Hornets in a pair of games Tuesday and Thursday, and then wrap up their season-long six-game homestand against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 14.

Canadian guard Sharpe developing well with Portland

While an air of mystery surrounded Canadian Shaedon Sharpe around the 2022 NBA draft, the Portland Trail Blazers guard is certainly a secret no longer.

Sharpe played in Canada as a pro for the first time on Sunday as the Toronto Raptors hosted Portland, and Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups had kind words for his 19-year-old rookie from London, Ont.

“Shae is uber-talented, obviously. It’s been a delight just coaching him. He listens. Picks up things pretty quickly. He’s been playing really well,” Billups said before tipoff. “And obviously for a young guy like that who its always going to be up and down, especially because he hasn’t played actual basketball games in a while if you will.”

Sharpe was the proverbial dark horse of the June draft, taken No. 7 overall despite the complete absence of any recent game footage of the six-foot-six player, who went to the University of Kentucky for a semester but then opted to put his name in the draft before playing a game for the Wildcats.

The Raptors honoured the Trail Blazers rookie with a video tribute. Sharpe finished with three points in 14 minutes of action.

Video of the high-flying guard created a big buzz on social media ahead of the draft. The video shows Sharpe doing a vertical leap test. He takes two steps then touches above the top of the gauge, what would have been an NBA combine record if the gauge was indeed the regulation 48 inches.

Sharpe didn’t get the chance to get his NBA feet wet in summer league after suffering a shoulder injury in his first game.

“I really thought coming into the season that him not even being able to play summer league really hurt him,” Billups said. “But he’s done a good job, man. He works his butt off. He is starting to understand the cadence of the NBA. And he has been playing well on both ends.”

Billups said Sharpe is adjusting well to the NBA game.

“I have been very surprised with him and his development so far. And there’s some games that he looks like he’s a six or seven year vet. And there’s some games where he looks like he’s 20 years old,” Billups said. “But his skill level is unmatched, it really is. I mean, the athlete that he is.

“People just talk about his dunking and things like that but it’s just special with his footwork, his ball handling, he shoots it very easy, there is just a gracefulness about him that he is blessed with that most guys don’t have.

“But he doesn’t just rest on that. He’s putting the work in which is good to see for a young guy.”