Raptors, Hawks face off for second time in three days on TSN
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The Toronto Raptors get set to host the Atlanta Hawks for the second time in three days when the teams clash at Scotiabank Arena on Friday night.
Watch the Raptors and Hawks LIVE tonight at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on TSN4, the TSN App, and TSN.ca.
The Raptors snapped a four-game losing streak with a 135-128 victory in Wednesday’s game against the Hawks. Pascal Siakam broke out of his shooting slump, hitting five of six attempts from beyond the arc en route to 33 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. It was the first time in 15 games that Siakam had hit more than one three-pointer in a game.
"I'm living with whatever happens. I'm at peace with that because I know the process that comes into being at that level and putting the work in every single day," Siakam said about his shooting, following Wednesday’s game. "You won't hear me talk about it. I'm not worried about it.
"I'm just continuing to do the things that I do every day."
The 29-year-old forward leads the team in scoring at 21.9 points per game.
With Wednesday’s win, the Raptors (10-14) overtook the Hawks (9-15) for 10th in the Eastern Conference just over a quarter of the way through the regular season.
Scottie Barnes continued his excellent season, contributing 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the win. The former Rookie of the Year also nailed three of four from beyond the arc, raising his three-point percentage to 39.4 per cent, by far a career best.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said that he considered changing the team’s starters amidst to losing streak but decided to stick with the usual lineup of Siakam, Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, O.G. Anunoby, and Dennis Schroder.
"I think we saw that the lineup can definitely work," said Poeltl following the win. "We had a little tough stretch right there where we couldn't really figure it out, maybe our confidence was down a little bit, the energy was down a little bit."
Toronto heads into Friday’s game having lost six of its past eight contests.
The Hawks enter Friday’s game having lost five straight games and seven of their past eight. Point guard Trae Young had 35 points and tied a season-high with 17 assists in Wednesday’s loss. He now sits second in the NBA with 10.8 assists per game, trailing only Indiana Pacer’s guard Tyrese Haliburton (12.0) for the league lead. Young has also surpassed 30 points in four of his past five games as the two-time All-Star continues to shoulder a heavy offensive load for Atlanta.
Hawks guard Dejounte Murray added 20 points on Wednesday and is now averaging 20.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists this season.
The Hawks will be without forwards A.J. Griffin and Jalen Johnson while forward DeAndre Hunter is questionable.
The Raptors injury report is clear outside of centre Christian Koloko, who has not played this season due to a respiratory issue.