Los Angeles (AFP) – Pascal Siakam scored a postseason-career high 30 points and had 11 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors seized a 2-1 lead in the first round playoff series with a 98-93 win on Friday.
Kawhi Leonard added 16 points and 10 rebounds while Danny Green scored 13 points and Kyle Lowry had 12 points for the Raptors who guarded Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic closely for the second straight game.
Vucevic scored 22 points and nabbed 14 rebounds for the Magic. Terrence Ross finished with a team-high 24 points, Jonathan Isaac scored 14, and Aaron Gordon had 10.
Game four in the best-of-seven series is Sunday in Orlando.
Lowry nailed a three pointer with just under eight minutes to go in the fourth to give Toronto a 17-point lead, their biggest lead of the game.
The Raptors scored the first 10 points of the game and led by 11 before finishing with a 26-21 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The first half ended with Ross nailing a 40-foot three-pointer to cut Toronto’s lead to 48-45.
The Raptors took a seven-point lead early in the third quarter, but Vucevic converted back to back three-pointers with 6:37 to go for Orlando’s first lead of the game, 59-57.
Leonard hit a jump shot to give Toronto a nine-point lead late in the fourth.
The Magic responded and Ross made a layup to cut the margin to 94-90. Siakam’s jumper gave Toronto a six-point lead with 93 seconds left.
Ross cut the lead to three with a three-pointer with 42 seconds remaining. Leonard made two free throws with 13 seconds left to ice the victory.
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