Siakam benched for disciplinary reasons vs. Knicks

The Toronto Raptors benched forward Pascal Siakam against the New York Knicks on Thursday for disciplinary reasons, head coach Nick Nurse confirmed postgame.

"It was a discipline thing for an internal matter," Nurse said, according to The Athletic's Blake Murphy. "That's the decision we went with tonight. Just gonna keep it at that. It's an internal matter."

Siakam left the bench after fouling out in the dying moments of the Raptors' 100-93 defeat against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, heading to the locker room before the game concluded. The 26-year-old picked up five fouls over a seven-minute span during the fourth quarter of the loss, which dropped the Raptors to 0-3.

However, Nurse wouldn't specify the exact reason for Siakam's benching.

"There's a certain way we want to do things and everyone has to be a part of that," he added.

Norman Powell took Siakam's spot in the starting lineup against New York.

Siakam is averaging 18.7 points, nine rebounds, and 4.7 assists through three games this season. The Cameroonian's efficiency is leaving something to be desired, as he's connecting on only 39.3% of his field-goal attempts and 33.3% of his shots from long range.

Toronto won Thursday despite Siakam's absence, defeating the Knicks 100-83 for the team's first victory of the 2020-21 season.