The Raptors Held Off The Suns Thanks To A Pascal Siakam Layup At The Buzzer


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The Toronto Raptors have a case for being the best team in the NBA. The Phoenix Suns are in the conversation for being one of the worst teams in the NBA. But because anything can happen on a give night, the Suns took it to the Kawhi Leonard-less Raptors on Thursday, making life difficult on the championship hopefuls north of the border.

However, Toronto still managed to come out on top, winning a 111-109 thriller against their Western Conference foes. The hero of the evening was Pascal Siakam, the third-year wing who has been a revelation for the Raptors this season.

With Leonard on the sideline, Nick Nurse decided to put the ball in Siakam’s hands on the final possession of regulation. Siakam was checked by Suns rookie Mikal Bridges, who forced the native of Cameroon to use his left hand. Still, Siakam bulldozed his way to the rim, and despite a challenge by Deandre Ayton was able to bank in the game-winning layup as the horn went off.

It’s a heartbreaking loss for the Suns, sure, but this is fantastic from Siakam. Notice how he timed breaking to the rim perfectly, then used his speed and strength to get by Bridges and softly lay the ball in off the glass even though Ayton was waiting for him. Siakam didn’t do a ton of scoring on the night — 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting along with 12 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal in 33 minutes — but when his number was called at the end of the game, he came up huge.

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