Toronto (Canada), Mar 16 (EFE).- Once again, the performance of Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet allowed the Toronto Raptors to win this Thursday, this time against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder, by 128-111.
Siakam had a double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds along with eight assists while VanVleet finished the night with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Raptors also highlighted Gary Trent Jr. who scored 23 points from the bench with four three-pointers out of seven attempts, and center Jakob Poeltl who made a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
In all, six Raptors players topped double figures in points.
Meanwhile, in the Thunder, the Canadian point guard, born precisely in Toronto, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was once again the best with 29 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Also, six Oklahoma City players exceeded double figures. But the Thunder were unable to maintain their winning streak that ended Thursday night after winning the previous three games.
For their part, with the victory this Thursday, the Raptors have won the last six games they have played at home and are approaching the Atlanta Hawks, the eighth in the Eastern Conference.
On Tuesday, the Raptors surprised with a victory against the Denver Nuggets, the first of the Western Conference, by 125-110, which allowed them to end a streak of three consecutive losses.
Now the Thunder’s ninth place in the Western Conference is threatened by the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Raptors’ victory over the Thunder was based on a better defensive integration of the locals, which allowed them to launch quick counterattacks.
The Raptors scored 23 fast-break points to just six for the Thunder. And this time, the Toronto bench made a significant contribution of 32 points, thanks mainly to Gary Trent Jr.
Until the Raptors adjusted their defense, the Thunder dominated the game.
In the first quarter, the visitors were up to seven points ahead of the Raptors, although when the first 12 minutes ended, the Torontonians managed to be one point ahead, 29-28,
In the second quarter, the Raptors finished settling in with OG Anunoby scoring two 3-pointers from two attempts and a total of 10 points, the same as Gary Trent Jr. For his part, Gilgeous-Alexander had his best quarter, with 13 points.
But when halftime rolled around, the Raptors were already up five points, 64-59.
The second half of the game, the Raptors controlled the Thunder, maintaining their lead around 10 points during the third quarter and the beginning of the last period.
But in the last six minutes, the Raptors managed to open a considerable advantage on the scoreboard, which reached 20 points. Finally the game ended with a 128-111 for the Toronto Raptors.
