It was a game that needed to be taken by the scruff of the neck and Pascal Siakam reached out, latched on and brought it home for the Raptors.
Early start, dull opponent, just another game in a long list of them. There was every reason to think Saturday’s noon start for the Raptors and Detroit Pistons would be an ugly one.
And for the most part it was, save the efforts of Siakam — who dominated at times, energized the afternoon at times and lifted Toronto to a 95-91 victory in Detroit.