ORLANDO, Florida: Pascal Siakam had 30 points and 11 rebounds, Kawhi Leonard added 16 points and the Toronto Raptors held off the Orlando Magic 98-93 on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
Siakam was 13 for 20 from the floor and the Raptors held Orlando to 36% shooting. Leonard had 10 rebounds, Danny Green had 13 points and Kyle Lowry finished with 12 points and 10 assist.
Terrence Ross led Orlando with 24 points, and Nikola Vucevic shook off a slow start to finish with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Game 4 is Sunday night in Orlando.
The Raptors trailed 61-60 midway through the third, then went on a 16-0 run over the next four minutes to take the lead for good. Siakam and Green were both 3 for 3 during the run, the Magic missed 10 consecutive shots over a span of 6 1/2 minutes and had to play uphill the rest of the way.
That being said, they went down swinging.
Lowry’s 3-pointer with 7:48 left gave Toronto its biggest lead at 86-69. The Magic came flying back, and Ross’ 3-pointer with 41 seconds left got Orlando to 96-93.
Leonard was short with a jumper on the next possession — but the Magic couldn’t control the rebound, and were doomed shortly afterward. Leonard made a pair of free throws with 12.9 seconds remaining to make it a two-possession game again, and that closed the scoring.
Orlando, which finished the regular season by winning 13 of its final 14 home games, was 13 of 44 from 3-point range.
Toronto scored the first 10 points — the last five by Siakam, who was a problem from the outset for the Magic — and led by as many as 11 in the first half.
Orlando got within one on three occasions in the first half, but never got the lead in the opening 24 minutes. Toronto took a 48-45 lead into the break after Ross beat the clock from midcourt at the buzzer.
He took off from the Magic logo and released the ball with about a half-second remaining, it hitting the square on the backboard perfectly and dropping through. Ross never broke stride, watching the ball’s flight as he ran and kept going through the tunnel leading to the Magic locker room.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Toronto had lost four consecutive Game 3s. ... Patrick McCaw (sprained right thumb) was active, but did not play. ... The Raptors are 6-1 in their last seven road games this season. ... Siakam has 73 points and 30 rebounds in the series.
Magic: Among the former Orlando players in the building were Tracy McGrady, Jameer Nelson and Horace Grant. ... Orlando missed three shots at the rim in one third-quarter possession. Vucevic missed at the rim, and Gordon couldn’t convert on two putback tries. ... Attendance was 19,367, the second-most in the Amway Center’s nine-season history.
GOVERNOR SPEAKS
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s first lady Casey DeSantis were in attendance and received Magic “46” jerseys — a nod to his being the 46th governor of the Sunshine State. The governor and Magic CEO Alex Martins spoke pregame about the hope for Orlando to get another All-Star Game soon, though all through 2022 has already been awarded to other Eastern Conference cities — and Milwaukee, another East city, has expressed interest in 2023.
UP NEXT
Game 4 is Sunday night in Orlando.
Siakam has 30 points, Raptors top Magic 98-93 for 2-1 lead
Siakam has 30 points, Raptors top Magic 98-93 for 2-1 lead
- Siakam was 13 for 20 from the floor
- Raptors held Orlando to 36% shooting
Big names eliminated as seeds advance at Dubai Tennis Championships
- Amanda Anisimova (2), Belinda Bencic (9), Clara Tauson (12), Emma Navarro (14) and Iva Jovic (16) all progress to round of 32
- Katerina Siniakova falls in straight sets to Spain’s Paula Badosa, who sets up clash with 2-time Dubai winner and seventh seed Elina Svitolina
DUBAI: Two former finalists and several seeded contenders advanced into the round of 32 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, but a number of Grand Slam winners and big-name favorites were sent packing by some of the WTA’s rising young stars on Monday.
Amanda Anisimova, the world No. 6 and this week’s second seed was handed a late bye after the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova withdrew injured.
The penultimate center court match proved the last as Spain’s Paula Badosa, a Dubai resident, dismantled Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 7-5 to set up a round two clash against the tournament’s 2017 and 2018 champion, seventh seed Elina Svitolina.
“Katerina’s a very tricky opponent, she’s won a lot of matches and I was expecting a tough battle,” said Badosa.
“I’m really pleased with my performance today. I tried to stay in there as she increased her level, it was very intense.
“I was trying to go for my shots, be aggressive, just trying to stay in the points as long as possible and wait for opportunities. I really look forward to playing here, I’m like a local now.”
Earlier on center court, last year’s defeated finalist, Clara Tauson, the 12th seed, got her new campaign off to a positive start, beating 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in straight sets.
The two exchanged powerful groundstrokes and intelligent net play in the first set, but it was Denmark’s Tauson who claimed the tiebreaker. With American Kenin seeming to tire, world No. 15 Tauson won 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Another defeated Dubai finalist, Anna Kalinskaya, beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko to progress. Kalinskaya, who reached the final in 2024, lost the opening set 2-6, but won the next two sets 6-1, 6-4.
World No. 13 and ninth seed Belinda Bencic conquered Spanish debutant Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on center court. After losing the first set 2-6, Bencic, who won the title here in 2019, won the next two sets 6-1, 6-2.
Bencic said: “I am just glad I was able to calm my head down a little bit and try and play a very simple game to improve throughout the match. I think I just settled into the match.”
Bencic, 28, who will face Sara Bejlek, 20, for the first time in the next round, added: “I will try to figure out all of the information I have, but during the match I’ll just have to adjust and figure it out as we go.”
Earlier, world No. 20 and 16th seed Iva Jovic beat Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 1-6, 6-1. The American, 18, is a rising star, and will now face world No. 21 Diana Shnaider who overcame Australia’s Maya Joint.
Meanwhile, crowd favorite Leylah Fernandez, a Canadian with Filipino ancestry, lost in straight sets to Indonesian wildcard Janice Tjen 7-6 (5), 6-4.
“It was a great battle out there,” said Tjen, 23, who also beat Fernandez in straight sets at the Australian Open. “I think the first set could have gone the other way, it was just a matter of my execution in the big moments.
“We know each other pretty well at this point, we’ve had a couple of practices together as well, but thanks to my coach I managed to prepare a little better.
“I’m pretty aggressive and always trying to control the point, that sometimes doesn’t work as well as I want it to, but today I was able to do that, stay aggressive, and I’m happy.”
On court two, British star Emma Raducanu’s much-anticipated return to Dubai stadium ended in defeat to Antonia Ruzic, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6. The Croatian had replaced Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the morning after the Italian withdrew due to a right thigh injury.
On Tuesday, Australian Open champion and No. 1 seed Elena Rybakina faces Australian qualifier Kimberly Birrell on center court. The match comes after world No. 4 and third seed Coco Gauff playing Kalinskaya.
Filipino star Alexandra Eala completes day three’s center court bill. The world No. 40 plays sixth seed Jasmine Paolini in the evening’s final match.
