Pascal Siakam on Saturday scored 23 points and the Toronto Raptors routed the depleted Indiana Pacers 131-91 in a game delayed 70 minutes in the first half because of a speaker fire that forced the evacuation of the arena.
Scottie Barnes added 19 points, Precious Achiuwa 18, OG Anunoby 16, Chris Boucher 15 and Thad Young 11 as the Raptors posted their biggest margin of victory this season.
Oshae Brissett led Indiana with 21 points. Justin Anderson had 18, Jalen Smith 15 and Buddy Hield 14. The Pacers have lost three straight and five of seven.
Photo: AP
No one from the sellout crowd of 19,800 was around to see Toronto move past Cleveland into sole possession of sixth place in the Eastern Conference after the Cavaliers lost 98-94 in Chicago. The Raptors are one game behind the fifth-place Bulls with eight games remaining.
Sixth place is the last guaranteed post-season spot, with teams finishing in the Nos. 7-10 spots headed for the play-in tournament.
In the first quarter, two sections of fans behind the basket at the east end of the stadium were cleared and Toronto Fire Services personnel could be seen in the empty aisles, staring at the ceiling.
Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY
“I was like: ‘Jeez, I wonder why they didn’t sell those seats tonight?’ That was my first thing,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “Then I saw the firemen standing there.”
Later, another section was cleared as play continued. Before long, video surfaced on social media of flames coming out from a speaker hanging above the stands.
Pacers acting head coach Lloyd Pierce said he spoke to lead official Zach Zarba about the acrid smell coming from the burning speaker.
“You could definitely smell it,” Pierce said. “By the time [the game] stopped the smell was tough.”
“Fifteen years for me, probably the most bizarre situation that we’ve been in for a game,” Pierce added.
During a time-out, public address announcer Herbie Kuhn announced that the arena was being evacuated at the order of Toronto Fire Services, telling booing fans that the game had been suspended.
Players headed to their locker rooms with 4 minutes, 5 seconds left in the second quarter and the Raptors leading 66-38.
Brissett, who is from Toronto, had a large crowd of people on hand to watch him play at home, but they all had to leave.
“I got a whole bunch of texts from friends, family,” Brissett said. “They were really mad.”
During the delay, two workers using ropes and harnesses hung from the ceiling and sprayed a fire extinguisher at the problematic speaker.
Remaining ushers and arena security staff cheered when the Raptors returned to warm up for the restart. The halftime break was cut from 15 minutes to seven-and-a-half minutes, and players did not leave the court during the intermission.
“It was crazy,” Achiuwa said. “I’ve never been in a game like that.”
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