It was supposed to be the first time the Raptors had their full roster available since early November, but trade deadline craziness and an injury forced Toronto to face the Atlanta Hawks with just nine players on Thursday.
Despite being severely undermanned, the Raptors came away with a 119-101 victory.
MORE: Raptors acquire Gasol in exchange for Valanciunas, Wright and Miles
Leading the charge was Pascal Siakam, who set a career high with 33 points. Siakam was one of the Raptors who survived the NBA's trade deadline day unscathed, as Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles and Greg Monroe were all dealt to other teams Thursday afternoon. Add in Malachi Richardson's trade to Philadelphia on Wednesday and the left knee soreness that kept team-leading scorer Kawhi Leonard on the bench, and head coach Nick Nurse was starved for choice when filling out his lineup card.
At first it appeared as though the day's events would be too much for the Raptors to handle, as the Hawks amassed a 17-point second-quarter lead and appeared to be cruising against their shorthanded visitors. The second half was a much different story, however. Siakam's outburst was supported by a big scoring night from Fred VanVleet, who also set a career high with 30 points, and a superb overall effort by Kyle Lowry (13 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists) as Toronto showed why it has hovered near the top of the league standings all season long.
Down 17...
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 8, 2019
...Up 3 pic.twitter.com/OWdfsurWtJ
MORE: Raptors send Greg Monroe to Nets for second-round pick
Toronto's momentum was too much for the Hawks, and Siakam proved nearly unstoppable on both ends of the floor with 12-of-20 shooting and 14 rebounds.
Pascal Siakam couldn’t have chosen a better night to set a new career high. pic.twitter.com/F6drjMUALJ
— Sporting News Canada (@sportingnewsca) February 8, 2019
The Raptors improve to 40-16 on the season. Toronto heads to New York for a Saturday night meeting with the Knicks.