The Toronto Raptors rested Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, Danny Green and Serge Ibaka in their final game of the preseason.
Their teammates made sure they could enjoy the break with a victory.
Malachi Richardson and Pascal Siakim each scored 21 points, and the Raptors beat the New Orleans Pelicans 134-119 Thursday night to wrap up the preseason with a 4-1 record.
Leonard, Green and Ibaka all played in the Raptors’ game in Montreal on Wednesday night, so they were given a game off with the travel to New Orleans.
Anthony Davis had a game-high 36 points and 15 rebounds for the Pelicans, who concluded a winless preseason. The Pelicans had everyone available, even though they didn’t get home from a road loss in Miami until after early Thursday morning.
The Raptors led 67-64 at halftime and never trailed in the second half, building their lead to as much as 15 in the fourth quarter.
New Orleans pulled within 111-109 with 7:39 left on a layup by Darius Miller. The Raptors finished the game on a 23-10 run.
Raptors forward Chris Boucher left the game with just more than eight minutes left after a collision with Davis as both players leapt into the paint for a rebound. Boucher landed horizontally and his head appeared to strike the court. He remained down a couple minutes while he received treatment and needed help walking to the locker room.
Raptors spokesman Roven Yau said after the game that Boucher ”passed the NBA concussion protocol and will continued to be monitored.”
Thursday’s games:
RAPTORS 134, PELICANS 119
Davis scored 23 and grabbed eight rebounds by halftime. Siakam had 20 of his 21 points in the first half, and his two free throws with 50.6 seconds left gave Toronto the lead for good at 65-63. Siakam banked in a hook shot with 2.4 seconds left for a 67-64 halftime lead.
RAPTORS: Siakam also had 11 rebounds and six assists … Kay Felder and OG Anunoby each added 15 points, CJ Miles had 14 and Jordan Loyd and Eric Moreland had 12 apiece. Moreland also had 10 rebounds.
PELICANS: Julius Randle had 13 points by halftime and finished with 20 points. He also had 11 rebounds. … Nikola Mirotic had 15 points and Jrue Holiday had 14. Darius Miller came in 10 of 13 from 3-point range, but he cooled off a bit missing all six shots beyond the arc. … Jahlil Okafor sat out the game with a sprained right ankle, and Alexis Ajinca also was out with a strained right quadriceps.
UP NEXT: Toronto hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday in the Raptors’ season opener. New Orleans opens the season Wednesday at Houston.
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