Raptors rally to beat Celtics
BOSTON — Kyle Lowry scored 21 of his season-high 34 points in the second half to help the Toronto Raptors hold on for a 101-94 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
The Raptors have won eight of their last nine.
Toronto erased an eight-point halftime deficit and led by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter. The Celtics pulled within four in the final minute, but Al Horford fouled Lowry on a 3-point attempt with 30 seconds to play. Lowry made all three free throws to help close out the victory.
DeMar DeRozan added 24 points, and Norman Powell had 20. Powell started in place of DeMarre Carroll, who was given the night off to rest and was not with the team.
Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas sat out his second straight game with a strained right groin. Marcus Smart started in his place, but struggled to keep up with Lowry down the stretch.
Horford and Avery Bradley each had 19 points to lead Boston.
Boston had nine 3-pointers in the first half and used a 13-0 run in the second quarter to take a 14-point lead. The Raptors crawled out of that hole with 21-3 run in the third. Lowry had 14 points in the quarter.
The Celtics kept firing threes in the second half, but cooled off and finished 17-for-42 for the game. They shot just 12-of-42 from the field in the second half and were outscored 33-18 in the third quarter.
The Raptors have the weekend off before hosting Milwaukee on Monday night, while the Celtics begin a two-game trip at Oklahoma City on Sunday night.
CAVALIERS 114, HEAT 84
CLEVELAND — LeBron James scored 27 points to move into ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Miami Heat 114-84 on Friday night.
James passed Elvin Hayes on a driving layup with 6:58 remaining and has 27,315 career points. The four-time MVP was removed about a minute later and received a loud ovation from the Cleveland crowd.
Kevin Love, a game-time decision because of back spasms, scored a team-high 28 points and had 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers. He missed the morning shootaround but was in the lineup after warming up on the court about an hour before tip-off. Kyrie Irving added 23 points for the Cavs, who have won three straight after losing three in a row.
Derrick Williams scored 17 points to lead the short-handed Heat, who have lost four straight.
Cleveland went ahead for good late in the first quarter and took its biggest lead of the half, 57-46, on Irving’s three-pointer as the second quarter was winding down.