Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 23 points against his former team, and Indiana beat the Toronto Raptors 127-125 on Wednesday night.
Siakam, traded from Toronto to Indiana last month, said he felt good after picking up the victory in his first trip back north of the border.
“You don’t want to come here and lose,” Siakam said. “That was a thing on my mind. Everyone was telling me, ‘I’m so happy to see you,’ but in my head I was like, ‘I’ve got to get a win, man. I can’t lose this game.’ Definitely feels good to get a win.”
Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points and 12 assists, Isaiah Jackson had 15 points and 11 rebounds, Obi Toppin scored 15 and Andrew Nembhard had 14 as the Pacers bounced back from Monday’s loss at Charlotte.
Scottie Barnes had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Jakob Poeltl added 19 points and 11 boards for the Raptors. Barnes finished with eight assists, narrowly missing a triple-double.
The Raptors set season highs with 84 points in the paint and 40 fast-break points.
Toronto fans opened a set of four straight home games last Friday by welcoming former Raptors guard Fred VanVleet back as Houston visited. They closed it on Valentine’s Day in an emotional reunion with Siakam, who was honored with a video tribute during pregame introductions. Raptors players applauded and the crowd gave Siakam a standing ovation.
“It definitely means a lot,” Siakam said. “I’m humbled. I couldn’t really imagine that kind of reception. Thank you. Thanks to everyone.”
The two-time All-Star arrived at his postgame news conference dressed in a special Valentine’s Day outfit of pink pants, a pink jacket and a pink winter hat.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
