Leonard helps Raptors cruise past Pelicans

Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points and the visiting Toronto Raptors pulled away from the shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans in the second half of a 127-104 victory on Friday night. Leonard scored 24 first-half points and finished 14 of 20 from the floor. Kyle Lowry added a triple-double with 13 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.

Pascal Siakam scored 19 points, Jeremy Lin had 14, Danny Green 13 and Serge Ibaka had 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Pelicans played without three starters as Jrue Holiday (abdominal strain) and E'Twaun Moore (quad contusion) were ruled out for at least a week to 10 days and Anthony Davis was a last-minute scratch because of back spasms.

The absence of Holiday, who had not missed a game all season, led to New Orleans using its 27th different starting lineup. Jahlil Okafor started in Davis' place, but left for good in the third quarter because of a sprained left ankle.

Rookie Frank Jackson started in Holiday's place and led New Orleans with 20 points, Julius Randle added 18 points, Cheick Diallo came off the bench to add 16 points and 12 rebounds, Elfrid Payton scored 13, Ian Clark had 11 and Darius Miller 10. The Raptors led by three points at halftime and scored the first six points of the third quarter.

The Pelicans cut the deficit to four points on four occasions before Toronto took control. Green made back-to-back 3-pointers to complete a 9-0 run that gave the Raptors an 88-75 lead.

The Raptors increased the lead to 16 before settling for a 93-80 edge after three quarters. They expanded the lead to 21 midway through the fourth quarter. Toronto outscored New Orleans 63-43 in the second half and shot 54 percent from the floor for the game.

Eight Pelicans scored in the first quarter, offsetting 14 points by Leonard as New Orleans took a 31-29 lead at the end of the period. Leonard scored 10 more points in the second quarter, making all four of his field-goal attempts as the Raptors took a 64-61 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media

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