Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam had the funniest story about Saturday's comeback win against the Denver Nuggets after he sat out the majority of the fourth quarter.
While Siakam scored 33 points in the 127-115 win, he was actually not utilized that much in the final period where he played with just a little over three minutes left. The Raptors' fourth quarter crew went on a massive run midway through the quarter, so Nick Nurse opted to stick with the lineup without the game's top-scorer.
Siakam admitted he was excited to see his teammates pull off the massive run, but as he was thinking about getting back into the game and helping the Raptors, he looked at Nurse who was avoiding eye contact with him.
“It was excited but then I was like, OK, am I gonna get in the game again or what's going on? I was looking at coach and he was trying not to make eye contact with me,” Siakam shared, per Josh Lewenberg of The Sports Network.
Everyone can certainly feel for Nick Nurse here. It's definitely awkward when your best scorer is looking at you to get back in the game when the current players on the floor are playing really well. You just don't mess with the flow and momentum.
Fortunately, Siakam is a good sport and also found the funny side of it.
Overall, however, the 27-year-old Siakam is proud of what the Raptors showed against the Nuggets. They held Nikola Jokic and co. to just 11 points in the last nine minutes of the fourth quarter, all while going on a 25-point rampage in the same span to get the W.
For the Cameroonian forward, it shows their never-say-die attitude.
“It shows our fight. We're relentless and we just want to continue to compete and get better as a team,” Siakam added.
The Raptors improved to 37-30 on the season with the win. It also puts them just one game behind of the sixth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, which gives them a legitimate shot at taking an automatic playoff qualification spot instead of a play-in berth.
It remains to be seen if they can keep the momentum going in the favor, but they are certainly trending in the right direction.
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