Raps power way to win
TORONTO When he’s home at night watching other teams play, DeMar DeRozan’s thoughts wander to what the Toronto Raptors might be like at full strength.
Until then, it’s all about scrapping and clawing for playoff positioning without their all-star point guard Kyle Lowry.
DeRozan scored 25 points to lift Toronto to a much-needed 100-78 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, their 10th game without Lowry, who is recovering from wrist surgery. And in the post-game dressing room, DeRozan talked about missing his backcourt mate.
“It’s something that we’ve got to be patient with and understand we’ve got to figure this thing out now, without having Kyle, and once he gets back make sure it’s an easy transition for everybody,” DeRozan said. “(We miss) just everything. He makes the game easier on everybody. You look up at the scoreboard and we have 125 points.”
Jonas Valanciunas added 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Raptors (39-28) won for the first time in three games. Norman Powell chipped in with 19 points, while Patrick Patterson and Delon Wright added 11 apiece.
Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks (28-38) with 18 points. Dirk Nowitzki, who at 38 recently became one of six players in NBA history to score more than 30,000 points, added 17 points.
Lowry could miss the rest of the regular season. Patterson said it’s impossible to narrow down the injured guard’s impact to one of two things.
“Kyle does so much,” Patterson said. “He’s so dependable, he’s so reliable, he does so much for us. Everything, you can’t just pinpoint one thing he does better than the other.”
With 15 games left in the regular-season, the Raptors — fourth in the Eastern Conference — continue to chase Washington and Boston, who each had three-anda-half games on Toronto ahead of Monday’s action.
SPURS 107, HAWKS 99
SAN ANTONIO — Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points in his return from a concussion and the San Antonio Spurs tied Golden State for the NBA’s best record.
San Antonio made a seasonhigh 16 3-pointers in its 19th straight home victory over Atlanta. The Spurs and Warriors are 52-14 with 16 games remaining, including the final regular-season matchup between them on March 29.
TIMBERWOLVES 119, WIZARDS 104
MINNEAPOLIS — KarlAnthony Towns had 39 points and 13 rebounds, Ricky Rubio scored 22 points and broke his own franchise record with 19 assists, and Minnesota beat Washington.
GRIZZLIES 113, BUCKS 93
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Vince Carter made all eight of his shots, including six from beyond the arc, to score a season-high 24 points and lead Memphis past Milwaukee.
BULLS 115, HORNETS 109
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points, Rajon Rondo had a season-high 20 in his return to the starting lineup and Chicago beat Charlotte to snap a season-high, five-game losing streak.