Pascal Siakam joins exclusive club, becoming fifth Raptor to record 50-point game

By | December 21, 2022
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The New York Knicks entered Wednesday night’s contest at Madison Square Garden as the hottest team in the league, before running into a buzzsaw in the form of Pascal Siakam. 

The Raptors forward delivered the best game of his career in the 113-106 win, erupting for a career-high 52 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists on 17-of-25 from the field, 2-of-6 from the 3-point line, and an ultra-efficient 16-of-18 at the free-throw line.

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“Special players rise to occasion in the biggest moments, a stage like Madison Square Garden where there’s been so many historic performances, he just his name in the books as one of those guys,” teammate Fred VanVleet said.

“It’s just been a lot of fun to play alongside and watch him. When he’s got it going, he’s unbelievable.”

Siakam’s performance not only ended the Raptors’ six-game losing streak, but brought an end to the Knicks’ league-best eight-game win streak. 

“It’s really, really, difficult to do first of all,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said of the Knicks’ streak.

“Any streak that gets up in this number is really difficult because there’s probably a bunch of games, or a handful or whatever that could go either way and you just happen to be making the plays at the end and being on the right side of those.”

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By The Numbers

Siakam makes franchise history

Siakam became just the fifth player in Raptors franchise history to record a 50-point game, eclipsing his previous career-high of 44 points, which came in 2021 in a loss to the Wizards. 

He joins Fred VanVleet, DeMar DeRozan, Vince Carter, and Terrence Ross as the only Raptors to eclipse the 50-point mark and is behind only VanVleet for the highest-scoring performance in a Raptors uniform. 

Highest scoring games in Raptors history
Rank Player Opponent Year Points
1. Fred VanVleet Magic 2021 54
2. Pascal Siakam Knicks 2022 52
3. DeMar Derozan Bucks 2018 52
4. Terrence Ross Clippers 2014 51
5. Vince Carter Suns 2000 51

MSG history

There’s no bigger stage than Madison Square Garden, which has seen some legendary performances over the years and tonight Siakam lit up Broadway, putting his name alongside some elite company.

Siakam is just the 10th player in NBA history to drop a 50-piece in the Garden, joining the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Stephen Curry. 

Siakam joins exclusive club

Siakam is just the fourth-active player to record 50 points at Madison Square Garden joining LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and James Harden in the record books. 

MORE: Breaking down the case for Siakam start in the All-Star Game 

No Knicks player has had 50 points at Madison Square Garden since Carmelo Anthony set the record in 2014, with a career-high 62 points. 

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