Pascal Siakam and the bench lead Toronto Raptors past New York Knicks in historic win

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The Toronto Raptors advanced to a perfect 8-0 at home with a decisive win over the New York Knicks.

In a game that was highlighted by R.J. Barrett's first contest in his home country, Pascal Siakam took over to steal the spotlight.

Behind the play of the Raptors' star and their fiery second unit, Toronto was able to handle New York.

If you missed any of the action, we had you covered with takeaways below.

Bench brings the energy

The Raptors were lackadaisical at the end of the first frame, allowing the Knicks to take an eight-point lead heading into the second quarter.

Nick Nurse went to the bench in need of a spark of energy and Terence Davis, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris Boucher did exactly that.

Terence Davis rattled off 10 quick points to help lead Toronto's 21-5 run in the quarter that flipped this game on its head.


Hollis-Jefferson battled on both ends of the floor and on the glass and came up with a strong offensive rebound to and-1 finish to keep the Raptors' run going. Boucher was doing a little bit of everything, going for six points, seven rebounds and two assists with three of those rebounds coming on the offensive glass.

The bench trio – and Pascal Siakam who scored 15 points in the second quarter – brought this team back to life.

This wasn't the first time this season that we've seen Davis, Hollis-Jefferson and Boucher step up, as those three have very much solidified themselves in Nurse's rotation as players who can make a significant impact in different areas of the game.

Davis finished with 15 points, five assists and four rebounds, Hollis-Jefferson had 12 points and four rebounds and Boucher notched a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.


That threesome combined for a +/- of plus-71.

In garbage time, Malcolm Miller was also able to heat up quickly, going for 13 points in 13 minutes of play.

Siakam's big game

Pascal Siakam didn't get out to any sort of a special start to this contest, but a second quarter explosion set him off for the remainder of the game.

After a modest five points and four rebounds in the first frame, Siakam led the charge on offence to the Raptors' second quarter run that changed the game. He scored 15 points shooting 6-for-8 from the field, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and had a team-best plus-20 +/- in the frame.

He kept that rolling with 11 points in the third quarter giving himself 31 points shooting 12-for-22 (54.5%) from the field while knocking down a career-high-tying five 3-pointers. Siakam also added eight rebounds, two assists and one steal to the box score and his efforts in the second and third quarter built a big enough lead that he earned the fourth quarter off.

It was a remarkable stat line in 30 minutes of action as Siakam torchered any defender the Knicks threw at him. He was a force in transition, was diligent on the glass and even had the hot hand on jump shots in this one.

He proved to be yet again, the best player on the floor.

Welcome home, R.J. Barrett

This was the first game back home for Toronto native R.J. Barrett.

He repped his home country on his sneakers:


and received a loud roar during introductions:


But had his first shot of the game turned away by Norman Powell . He would later get some revenge with a thunderous dunk in the second quarter and all-in-all, it was a solid game for the rookie.


Barrett would finish the contest with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals but struggled shooting 5-for-17 from the field and 2-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Home sweet home

The Raptors dominate at Scotiabank Arena – that's something we knew going into this contest.

For further proof, look no further than this victory setting an NBA record as Toronto has won 33-consecutive games at home versus teams in their division – the Atlantic division.

The last time the Raptors have lost a home game to an Atlantic divison opponent was back in 2015 when Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks to a win over Toronto in Toronto.

To add to that, the Raptors advance to 8-0 at home this season – their best start to a season at home in franchise history. They are one of four teams in the NBA – joining the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers –  that have yet to lose at home.

The Raptors will hit the road for one quick game against the Orlando Magic, but then return back to Scotiabank Arena to put that record on the line against a tough Utah Jazz team.

Author(s)
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Kyle Irving is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.