Toronto Raptors vs Brooklyn Nets Match Player Stats On Aug 21, 2020

Pascal Siakam scored 26 points, Fred VanVleet added 22 and the Toronto Raptors never trailed en route to a 117-92 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday afternoon near Orlando.

The second-seeded Raptors own a 3-0 series lead for the first time in team history. They can close out the Nets on Sunday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Siakam made 11 of 23 shots from the floor while collecting eight rebounds and five assists for Toronto, which shot 50.5 percent from the field and overwhelmed Brooklyn on the boards by a 56-42 margin.

VanVleet made 8 of 13 shots and hit six 3-pointers, including a buzzer-beater from beyond midcourt that put Toronto up 57-42 by halftime. He also hit another 3-pointer with about a minute left in the third that helped Toronto take an 84-68 lead into the fourth quarter.

Reserve Serge Ibaka contributed 20 as the Raptors led by as many as 31 points and posted their second double-digit win of the series. Kyle Lowry nearly posted a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Norman Powell also chipped in 11.

Tyler Johnson was elevated to the starting lineup and scored a playoff career-high 23 points while starting for Joe Harris, who missed the game for personal reasons.

Caris LeVert was limited to 15 points, and Brooklyn's starting tandem of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Garrett Temple was a combined 5 of 30 from the floor.

Chris Chiozza added 14, but Jarrett Allen was held to four and did not attempt a shot in a game where he grabbed 17 rebounds.

Brooklyn shot 33.3 percent, including 31.4 percent (16-for-51) from 3-point range, setting a team record for attempts in a postseason game.

The Raptors raced out to a 16-5 lead and led 24-17 after the first quarter. The Raptors ripped off 11 straight points and took a 35-19 lead on a layup by OG Anunoby with 8:58 remaining and opened a 51-34 lead on a layup by Siakam with 2:45 left before VanVleet's dramatic shot

The Nets trimmed the deficit to within 64-55 on a 3-pointer by Johnson with 8:11 remaining. The Raptors ripped off eight straight points highlighted by transition 3-pointers from Siakam and VanVleet for a 72-55 edge less than two minutes late in the third quarterr.

Toronto then secured the victory with about eight minutes left on a jumper by Siakam that made it 100-78 and pulled its starters a few minutes later.

--Field Level Media