Pascal Siakam scored 19 points, including a pair of free throws with 9 seconds left, and the Toronto Raptors rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 106-103 on Sunday.
Jaren Jackson Jr. missed a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left that would have tied the game for the Grizzlies, who played without star Jae Morant due to a sore right wrist.
Toronto won its second straight game and went 4–3 on its season-long seven-game road swing. Memphis has lost three straight and eight out of nine.
Chris Boucher scored 17 points and matched his season high with three 3-pointers for the Raptors. Scottie Barnes scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of baskets down the stretch. Fred Van Vleet had 15 points and seven assists.
“Things got tight in the fourth quarter,” Barnes said. “It was just the ball coming to me, and I was taking one ball. I was just trying to get down and win the game.”
Desmond Bain led Memphis with 26 points, while Jackson had 18 points and four blocks. In addition to Morant, the Grizzlies were missing center Steven Adams (right knee) and forward Dillon Brooks, who served a league-evaluated one-game suspension on Thursday for a collision with Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell.
Toronto put Memphis 28–17 in the fourth quarter to put the game away, and Bain said there are clearly things that need to change.
“I think it’s to evaluate every asset,” the Grizzlies guard said. “Understanding the magnitude of every possession for the full 48 minutes, but especially down the stretch. When it comes down to it, we need to be able to rebound the basketball and not give teams second chances.”
Memphis led for most of the game before Toronto took a late lead. The Grizzlies were leading 81–66 with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter. The Raptors entered the fourth within 86–78.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse said, “You don’t want to try and shoot teams jumping down and out.” “They were open shots, but we needed to get in attack mode and attack the paint. (Jump shots) are great when they all go in, but when none of them go in, it’s really I feel bad and you put yourself in a big hole.
Precious Achiuva broke free for a baseline dunk with 2:32 left that gave the Raptors a 100–99 lead. From there, the teams traded baskets until Barnes hit a pair of shots with 20.1 seconds to go for a 104–103 advantage.
“It was a great win … to cap it off with that fourth quarter,” VanVleet said. “Things weren’t really going our way. We just hung in there and made a few more plays in the end.