It's a brand new year and the NBA didn't take a day off to celebrate. Five games were still on the slate, meaning 10 teams were in action for Tuesday (January 1). In one game Toronto held off Utah for a close victory. Here are the five players who had the biggest impacts in this NBA game.
Kawhi Leonard - Toronto Raptors
Tuesday night's matchup in Toronto saw Leonard go off for 45 points. The former NBA Finals MVP was 16-for-22 and also collected six rebounds during his night of work. That helped the Raptors win 122-116.
🖐️ @kawhileonard erupts for a career-high 45 PTS (16-22 FGM) in the @Raptors home win! #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/hpkuyIPVLE
— NBA (@NBA) January 2, 2019
Pascal Siakam - Toronto Raptors
There weren't too many double-digit scorers for the home team, but Siakam had the only double-double for the Raptors. He finished with a new career-high of 28 points and also got 10 rebounds.
Pascal Siakam finished with a CAREER-HIGH 2️⃣8️⃣ POINTS in the @Raptors WIN! 🔥 #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/TYtGAakxa0
— NBA Canada (@NBACanada) January 2, 2019
Norman Powell - Toronto Raptors
Powell was the third and final Raptors player with double-digit points. He came off the bench to score 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting, grabbed three boards, gave an assist, and blocked two shots.
🗣️ N👌🏽RMAN pic.twitter.com/jRv1gDOYNF
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 2, 2019