Pascal Siakam matches season high with 35, Raptors top Cavaliers

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Pascal Siakam matched his season high with 35 points, Chris Boucher scored 17 and the Toronto Raptors tightened the Eastern Conference playoff race by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-104 on Thursday night.

"It was a good game, it was a big game," Siakam said. "I think every game is a big game."

OG Anunoby returned from injury to score 14 points, Scottie Barnes had 11 and Fred VanVleet and Precious Achiuwa each added 10 as Toronto (41-32) snapped a three-game home losing streak and tied Cleveland for the sixth-best record with nine games to go in the regular season.

"You’ve got a choice of fighting or you’ve got a choice of running, and our guys don’t run," Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "We’ll lay it out there. But again, we’re in a position where we just have to take care of business. We take care of business, we’ll be fine."

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Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) tries to move the ball around Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro (35) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, March 24, 2022, in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Cleveland had won all three previous meetings with the Raptors this season, meaning the Cavs hold the tiebreaker over Toronto and retain possession of the No. 6 seed in the East. That is the last guaranteed postseason spot, with teams finishing in the Nos. 7-10 spots headed for the play-in tournament.

Siakam’s six made 3-pointers matched his career high. He shot 6 for 7 from long range.

"He was feeling it, that’s for sure," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.

Anunoby started for the Raptors, returning to the lineup