By Canadian Press

Powell scores 28, Siakam adds 26 and Raptors beat Wizards 137-115

Feb 10, 2021 | 6:58 PM

WASHINGTON — Norm Powell had 28 points, while Pascal Siakam added 26 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Washington Wizards 137-115 on Wednesday.

Kyle Lowry had 21 points, Chris Boucher had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Fred VanVleet chipped in with 14 points for the Raptors (12-13), who’ve won five of their last six games.

Bradley Beal topped the Wizards (6-16) with 24 points, while Russell Westbrook had 23.

Coming off an entertaining 128-113 win two nights earlier in Memphis, the Raptors maintained their momentum on Wednesday. They took the lead for good before the game was three minutes old, and had built a 16-point gap on the Wizards late in the first half.

The Raptors led 103-93 to start the fourth quarter and, while Beal’s jumper sliced the difference to eight points midway through the frame, the Wizards never really threatened. The Raptors seemingly scored at will during an 11-0 run that had Toronto up by 19 with 2:27 to play. The Raptors’ bench then closed out the team’s eighth consecutive victory over Washington.

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The Raptors had 19 three-pointers on the night for a sizzling 59 per cent.

The Raptors were missing OG Anunoby (calf strain) and Yuta Watanabe (ankle sprain), spoiling the anticipated reunion of Japanese players Watanabe and Washington’s Rui Hachimura. Watanabe, who was with Memphis at the time, and Hachimura made history last season as the first Japanese players to share an NBA court.

The Raptors got off to a hot start, shooting 65.2 per cent from the field in the first quarter. At the other end, they held the Wizards to 1-for-9 shooting from behind the arc, and headed into the second quarter up 40-28.

The Wizards pulled to within four points midway through the second, but a Siakam three-pointer capped a 24-12 Raptors run that had them up by 16. Toronto went into halftime with a 74-61 lead.

Westbrook had 11 points in the third and the Wizards pulled to within 10 with one quarter left.

The Raptors don’t have a lot of down time before playing again. They wrap up their six-game road trip on Thursday in Boston.

“I think there’s been a couple really late nights,” coach Nick Nurse said of Toronto’s longest road trip in the season’s first half. “We haven’t been able to do much because of those and with the no shootarounds as well, it’s been maybe a little less on the teaching and getting through things, but hopefully a little more on the rest, recovery, and energy restoration.

“So, good with the bad. Players like that last part.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2021.

The Canadian Press