Raptors end pre-season on winning note
Siakam led short-handed Toronto with 21 points
Pascal Siakam had 21 points and 11 rebounds and OG Anunoby added 15 points as a shorthanded Toronto Raptors squad wrapped up pre-season play with a 134-119 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
CJ Miles had 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting — including 3 of 4 from the three-point line — off the bench for Toronto (4-1). Malachi Richardson had 21 points, Kay Felder had 15 and both Jordan Loyd and Eric Moreland had 12 apiece.
Anthony Davis paced the Pelicans (0-5) with 36 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. Julius Randle also had a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Nikola Mirotic, Jrue Holiday and E'Twaun Moore were in double-digits at 15, 14 and 12 points, respectively.
The Raptors took a 67-64 lead into halftime as Siakam banked in a hook shot with 2.4 seconds. Toronto never looked back, streching its advantage to as much as 15 in the fourth quarter.
Boucher leaves early
New Orleans cut the lead to two at 111-109 with 7:39 left, but Toronto finished the game on a 23-10 run.
Toronto's Chris Boucher was helped to the locker-room with just more than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter after a collision with Davis as both players jumped for a rebound. Boucher fell and his head appeared to hit the court. He stayed down a couple minutes while he received treatment.
The Raptors said the Montreal native passed concussion protocol and will continue to be monitored.
Toronto rested stars Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry as well as regulars Serge Ibaka, Jonas Valanciunas, Danny Green and Fred Van Vleet.
The Raptors went with a starting lineup of Lorenzo Brown, Loyd, Anunoby, Siakam and Greg Monroe.
Powell, Wright sat out
The Pelicans, meanwhile, utilized their full squadron, including starters Davis, Holiday, Moore, Mirotic and Elfrid Payton, as well as Randle in reserve.
Norman Powell, who is dealing with left IT band tenderness, and Delon Wright, who is nursing a strained left thigh muscle, both sat out for Toronto.
Jahill Okafor did not suit up for New Orleans with a sprained right ankle.
The Toronto Raptors host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday in the season opener for both teams.