Pascal Siakam scored 23 points in his return to Toronto, helping the Indiana Pacers earn a 127-125 victory over the Raptors on Wednesday night.
Siakam, who played seven-plus seasons with the Raptors, was traded to the Pacers on Jan. 17 in exchange for three players and three first-round draft picks.
Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points and 12 assists for the Pacers, who won for the fourth time in six games. Isaiah Jackson produced 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Obi Toppin also scored 15. Andrew Nembhard wound up with 14 points, Doug McDermott scored 13 and Ben Sheppard had 10.
Scottie Barnes finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Raptors, who took their third loss in a row. RJ Barrett added 23 points, Jakob Poeltl amassed 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley logged 14 points. Bruce Brown, acquired from Indiana as part of the Siakam trade, scored 12 points off the bench, and Chris Boucher had 10 points.
Toronto took a two-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Sheppard’s 3-pointer gave Indiana a one-point lead with 5:07 to play, and Siakam hit a jumper to bump the lead to three with 25.4 seconds left.
Poeltl made two free throws with 14.7 seconds remaining to cut Toronto’s deficit to one. Jackson made one of two foul shots with 9.8 seconds left for a two-point margin before Barrett missed a potential game-tying shot in the final second.
Barrett scored 12 points in the first quarter to help Toronto establish a 35-31 lead.
Gary Trent Jr.’s 13-footer gave the Raptors a 10-point lead with 5:58 left in the second quarter. The Pacers scored the next seven points. Barrett’s three-point play with 1:29 left increased the lead to eight.
McDermott hit a 3-pointer to complete first-half scoring and trim Toronto’s lead to 71-65.
Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith was helped to the dressing room early in the third quarter with a right shin injury. He finished with eight points in 17 minutes.
Siakam scored seven straight points to give Indiana a 77-75 lead with 9:24 left in the third quarter. Toronto used a 10-0 burst to take an eight-point lead with 2:28 remaining in the third, and the Raptors led 103-101 at the period’s end.
Toronto’s Kelly Olynyk (back) left the game in the first half and did not return. He did not score in seven minutes.
Myles Turner (illness) and Jalen Smith (back) did not play for Indiana.
–Field Level Media
