A tie would have sent the Raiders and Chargers into the postseason. The Raiders’ win instead eliminated the Chargers and allowed the Steelers to sneak into the playoffs.
FINAL SCORE: TORONTO RAPTORS 105, NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 101
DATE: SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022
FINAL SCORE
RECORD
HIGH POINTS
HIGH REBOUNDS
HIGH ASSISTS
New Orleans
101
14-26
Ingram – 22
Valanciunas – 17
Temple – 6
Toronto
105
20-17
VanVleet – 32
Siakam – 10
Siakam – 7
KEY RUN
Trailing 99-96 with 2:26 left, Fred VanVleet hit back-to-back three-point field goals to put the Raptors up by three points (102-99) … Toronto led the rest of the game.
KEY STAT
Toronto outrebounded New Orleans 46-35, including 15-7 on the offensive glass … The Raptors tallied 24 second chance points compared to the Pelicans’ 6 … Toronto has outrebounded opponents 89-50 on the offensive end over the last six games (Dec. 31- Jan. 9).
RAPTORS NOTES:
With the win, Toronto improves to 20-17 this season and 12-10 at home … The Raptors have now set a season-high with their sixth consecutive win (Dec. 31 – Jan. 9) … The last time Toronto won six straight games was Mar. 3 – Aug. 5, 2020 … The Raptors willcomplete a three-game homestand (Jan. 7-11), Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns.
Fred VanVleet tallied 32 points and made season-best eight three-point field goals … He added four rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes … VanVleet has scored 30+ points in six of the last eight games played (Dec. 14 – Jan. 9), averaging 30.6 points and shooting .471 (82-for-174) from the field, including .456 (47-for-103) from beyond the arc during this stretch.
Fred VanVleet scored in double digits in both the first quarter (13) and fourth quarter (12) tonight … He has now scored 10+ points in 21 quarters this season, something he did 31 times in 52 games last season.
Pascal Siakam finished with 29 points (8-18 FG, 3-5 3PT, 10-10 FT), 10 rebounds and seven assists for his team-leading eighth double-double of the season … Tonight marks the 16th time in his career and fifth time this season that Siakam has recorded 20+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists … Siakam has now dished out five or more assists in a career-high seven consecutive games (Dec. 28 – Jan. 9), averaging 6.4 assists per game during this stretch.
Fred VanVleet (32)and Pascal Siakam (29)combined to score 61 of Toronto’s 105 points, including 19 of the team’s 26 points in the fourth quarter…The Raptors are 4-1 this season when Siakam and VanVleet each score 20+ points.
Reserves Precious Achiuwa (9)and Chris Boucher (8) combined for 17 of Toronto’s 46 rebounds, including six of the team’s 15 offensive rebounds.
PELICANS NOTES:
With the loss, New Orleans is now14-26, including 6-15 on the road … The Pelicans will return home to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
Jonas Valanciunas recorded 20 points and 17 rebounds for his team-leading 27th double-double of the season … Valanciunas has also led (or tied) the Pelicans in rebounding in three of the last four games (Jan. 3-9), averaging 13.0 rebounds during this span … Only Rudy Gobert (31), Nikola Jokic (28) and Domantas Sabonis (28) have recorded more double-doubles than Valanciunas this season.
Brandon Ingram finished with a team-high 22 points, five rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes … Ingram has now scored 20+ points in consecutive games (Jan. 6-9), averaging 27.0 points and shooting .529 (18-for-34) from the floor.
Brandon Ingram has led New Orleans in scoring in consecutive games (Jan. 6-9), for the first time since Dec. 21-23 … Entering tonight the Pelicans have had six different players lead the team in scoring over the last six games (Dec. 26 – Jan. 6).
The view from left field 