Siakam scores 27 as Raptors beat Trail Blazers for 1st win in 4 games

Pascal Siakam scored 27 points and the struggling Toronto Raptors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 117-105 on Sunday for their first win in four games.

Scottie Barnes finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Gary Trent Jr. had 19 points, Fred VanVleet and O.G. Anunoby chipped in with 14 apiece for the Raptors (17-23), who've won just six of their last 20 games.

Damian Lillard scored 34 points top the Trail Blazers (19-20), who've lost three in a row.

But the Blazers clawed back, and when Lillard tipped in a shot with 6:17 to play, the basket slashed the difference to just three points, eliciting groans from the Scotiabank Arena crowd. VanVleet had them cheering again with back-to-back three-pointers that restored the lead to nine.

Anunoby drilled a three from in front of the Raptors bench after Trent stole the ball off Lillard for a 10-point lead with 3:04 to play. Anfernee Simons' basket had the Blazers back within five with 1:40 to play, but Christian Koloko scored on a Siakam miss to all but seal the victory for Toronto.

The Blazers took an early six-point lead, but the Raptors went on a 25-4 run that straddled the first and second quarters. Koloko's dunk at the end of the first put Toronto up 34-27 heading into the second.

Precious Achiuwa threw down an alley-oop dunk from Malachi Flynn early in the second for a 15-point advantage. They stretched it to 19 points on a step-back three-pointer from Trent at 7:14 in the quarter. But the Blazers replied with a 20-4 run of their own, slicing the difference to just three points a minute before halftime. Toronto took a 58-53 advantage into the break.

With VanVleet, Siakam and Anunoby on the bench for several minutes start the third quarter, Trent orchestrated a 16-7