Siakam's 31-point double-double helps VanVleet-less Raptors rout Hawks

Pascal Siakam had 31 points and 12 rebounds and the Raptors routed Atlanta 139-109 on Monday, Toronto's seventh consecutive win over the Hawks at Scotiabank Arena.

Gary Trent Jr. had 21 points, O.G. Anunoby finished with 14 points and six steals, Chris Boucher chipped in with 11 points and Precious Achiuwa had 10 for Toronto (4-3).

Dejounte Murray led Atlanta (4-3) with 20 points.

On the heels of an ugly 112-90 loss to Philadelphia on Friday, the Raptors led for most of the night, and were up by as many as 17 points late in the third quarter, before taking a 95-80 advantage in the fourth.

WATCH | Siakam powers Raptors to victory:

A pair of Achiuwa free throws put Toronto ahead by 20 points less than a minute into the fourth quarter, before Murray's driving layup sliced the difference to 15. But the Raptors answered every Hawks run, and when rookie Christian Koloko — who earned his first NBA start — slashed to the hoop for a dunk, the basket gave Toronto a 24-point lead, much to the delight of the capacity Scotiabank Arena crowd of 19,800 fans.

The Raptors shot 50 per cent from the field, and 41.2 per cent from behind the arc. They committed just seven turnovers, while forcing 18 Hawks giveaways, for 24 points.

Barnes hit three consecutive three-pointers in less than a minute in the first quarter, and Boucher's three-pointer with 3:07 left in the frame capped a 7-0 run that put Toronto up by 11. They led 34-28 to start the second.

Young's three midway through the second quarter saw the Hawks go up by three points, but Barnes' three-pointer was the exclamation mark on a Raptors' 20-4 run that had them back up by 13. Toronto headed into the halftime break leading 64-53.

VanVleet will have to wait another game at least to