Raptors end Hawks’ 7-game win streak behind Trent, Siakam
ATLANTA (AP) — Gary Trent Jr. scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam added 23 and the Toronto Raptors snapped Atlanta’s seven-game winning streak with a 106-100 victory on Monday night.
Trent, who has scored at least 30 points in four straight games, hit three 3s in the closing minutes of the third quarter, including a buzzer-beater. Then he connected early in the fourth to put the Raptors up 85-77. He finished with a career-high nine 3s.
“Coming into this summer, they talked to me about getting my jumper — it was good, but getting it to great,” he said. “Getting a little quicker release. Just working, repetition. Believing in the coaching staff and what they’re telling me. Just getting better day by day, week by week, month by month.”
Fred VanVleet, who scored 16 and handed out 11 assists, got hot in the fourth, hitting consecutive 3s to push the lead to nine.
Kevin Huerter scored a team-high 26 points for the Hawks, who were without All-Star guard Trae Young. He was scratched with a right shoulder contusion, and ranks fifth in the NBA in scoring and third in assists.
Atlanta pulled within one on Onyeka Okongwu’s lay-in midway through the fourth and Bogdan Bogdanovich’s straightaway 3 with 1:52 remaining. Trent answered with a 3, and Bogdanovic made a corner 3 to make it 101-100.
OG Anunoby then shot a 3-pointer to put the Raptors up 104-100 with 20.1 seconds to go, and Toronto closed out the game.
“I thought their pressure bothered us,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “We didn’t really get anything clean. We made some shots and were able to stay close, but I thought they established a presence with their defensive pressure pretty much all night long.”