Leonard scores 30 as Raptors rebound to beat Bucks
Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam each scored 30 points, with Siakam setting a career high, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks 123-116 on Saturday night in a matchup of the top two teams in the NBA standings.
- Sports
- AFP
- Published Date: 12:00 | 06 January 2019
- Modified Date: 11:26 | 06 January 2019
Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam scored 30 points each as the Toronto Raptors used a balanced attack to outduel the Milwaukee Bucks 123-116 in a battle of the top two NBA teams.
Leonard was back to his old self on Saturday night following an emotional return to San Antonio on Thursday to face his former team, who bottled him up and routed the Raptors 125-107.
But he got plenty of help from a strong supporting cast as Toronto seized command in the second and third quarters and then survived a Milwaukee rally in the fourth.
"We thought we didn't play great defence last game so we wanted to come out aggressive and pass the ball and get some more open shots and it fell in for us tonight," Leonard said.
Siakam finished with a career-high 30, Serge Ibaka added 25 points and nine rebounds, Fred VanVleet had 21 points, and Danny Green 12 points and nine rebounds as the Raptors beat the Bucks for the first time this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 43 points and 18 rebounds for Milwaukee, who came into the contest on a five-game winning streak. Malcolm Brogdon added 15 points, and Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe each had 14.
While the Raptors were trying to forget about being trounced in the Alamo City, the Bucks were coming off a 144-112 victory over Atlanta on Friday.
The Raptors salted the game away with a 15-2 fourth quarter surge which was highlighted by a three pointer from Siakam that gave them a 110-98 lead with just over five minutes to play.
"We came out tonight with a pass-first mindset and to take open shots. It worked out, all of us had 20 plus," Leonard said.
Trailing by as much as 13, the Bucks opened the fourth quarter with a 14-4 run and led 96-95 with 8:12 left.
Elsewhere, Stephen Curry scored 42 points and finished with 10 three pointers as the Golden State Warriors stormed back to the beat the Sacramento Kings 127-123.
Golden State, who blew a 20-point lead and lost 135-134 in overtime to Houston on Thursday, had another big lead disappear in the third quarter Saturday but they managed to regroup and rally past the Kings in the fourth.
Kevin Durant added 29 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and Klay Thompson scored 20 points to help the Warriors complete a three-game sweep of the season series.
Curry scored 20 of his 42 in the final quarter and also made a pair of free throws with nine seconds to go.
Buddy Hield scored 32 points on a career-high eight threes for Sacramento, who went on a 15-0 run in the first half. The Kings set a franchise record with 20 baskets from beyond the arc.