NEW ORLEANS — The Raptors were playing without a true point guard on the floor, and Pascal Siakam had the ball. The team had gone scoreless in its first three possessions of the fourth quarter, and the Pelicans knew the Raptors weren’t working with much at all. Terence Davis missed a rushed 3-pointer, Matt Thomas committed an offensive foul in an attempt to get open and Marc Gasol’s gravitational pull is a bit diminished at this stage of his career.



As a result, Pelicans swingman Kenrich Williams pressed up on Siakam on the other side of half court, trying to fatigue the Raptors star the best he could. For a while, it looked like it was going to work. Siakam put the ball on the floor countless times, and Williams hung with him. Finally, Siakam crossed over Williams, driving by his defender, who was by now flailing off balance to his left. E’Twaun Moore met Siakam near the rim, but he is nowhere near imposing enough to challenge him. Siakam scored the...