TORONTO — The Pistons have swept the Toronto Raptors in each of the last two seasons. On Friday, the Raptors returned the favor and delivered a 118-97 loss to the Pistons, marking their fourth victory against Detroit this season.
Detroit's fifth consecutive loss was a result of poor 3-point shooting, combined with good perimeter shooting from the Raptors, who also thrived in transition.
The 20-point halftime margin set the tone for the Raptors, who were led by Pascal Siakam's game-high 32 points and nine assists. He scored 26 of those points in the first half, which opened up more opportunities for his teammates in the second half.
The Raptors had four players in double-figures. Chris Boucher had 19 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Fred VanVleet had 18 points and four assists. O.G. Anunoby totaled 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.
The Pistons were without two of their best shooters in Rodney McGruder and Cory Joseph and couldn't find their rhythm from beyond their arc, finishing just 6 of 25 (24%). Toronto was the exact opposite and made its living on 3-pointers with more volume, making 13-of-37 attempts (35%).
The Pistons were led by Jaden Ivey, who totaled 20 points and eight assists. It was an efficient game from a scoring perspective, but Ivey had difficulty taking care of the ball with a season-high eight turnovers. It was the first time he totaled at least seven giveaways since March 9 at Charlotte.
Marvin Bagley III, who was coming off his best performance of the season with 31 points and eight rebounds against Atlanta, finished with 14 points and nine boards. James Wiseman rebounded from a tough outing against the Hawks with 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
The Pistons will return to Detroit for a one-game homestand against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
Here are a couple of more observations from Friday's loss:
Ivey joins Pistons lore
Ivey entered rare air on Friday night. He became the fourth rookie in franchise history to record 1,000 points, 300 assists and 250 rebounds, joining Cade Cunningham, Grant Hill and Dave Bing. Ivey has displayed an ability to be multifaceted throughout the season. He's scored at least 10 points in 31 consecutive games, the fourth-longest streak by a rookie since 2012-13. He's had four games this season with at least 10 assists and three games with at double-digit rebounds. If he's able to maintain the same level of aggression when Cunningham returns next season, it'll bode well for their chemistry.
Omoruyi's homecoming
Fresh off signing a contract to remain with the Pistons for the remainder of the season, Eugene Omoruyi made his NBA debut in his home country on Friday night. The Orangeville, Ontario, native checked into the game with five minutes left in the first quarter. He was acknowledged by the Raptors public address announcer late in the first quarter and received a warm ovation from the fans inside Scotiabank Arena. With over 100 friends and family members in attendance, Omoruyi finished with nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks, including a fierce rejection on Jeff Dowtin Jr. He shot only 3 of 10 from the field, but it was a long-awaited homecoming game for the Nigerian-Canadian.
