Raptors pull away late

DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Kyle Lowry added 17 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 117-104 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

Pascal Siakam had 14 points, including 10 in the final five minutes as the Raptors pulled away for their 11th win in 13 games. Jakob Powell added 13 points and Fred Van Fleet had 12.

Evan Fournier and Mario Hezonja scored 17 apiece for Orlando, which has lost seven straight games. Nikola Vucevic added 14 points and Aaron Gordon had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic.

Both teams struggled to get defensive stops the entire game, but the Raptors finally dug in and defended for a five-minute window of the fourth quarter that put them in charge. Leading 97-96, Toronto got stops on seven straight possessions, including two turnovers and a blocked shot, and outscored the Magic 13-2 in the run.

Siakam’s layup gave the Raptors a 110-98 lead with 3:20 left. It was one of four fast-break layups or dunks the Raptors had in that run.

Orlando never got closer than nine points the rest of the game.

The Raptors, who shot 63.4 per cent in building a 69-63 halftime lead, went cold to start the third quarter and the Magic finally caught them when Jonathon Simmons buried a 3-pointer to put Orlando up 7574.

Toronto finally got a field goal when Lowry drained a 3-pointer at the 8:34 mark and the teams played even the rest of the quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Hezonja and Shelvin Mack in the final 40 seconds brought Orlando within 90-89 at the end of the period.

The first half was an offensive track meet and defence was an afterthought for both teams. Toronto held a 69-63 halftime edge, despite allowing Orlando to shoot 58 per cent (25 of 43) from the field, including eight 3-pointers. The Raptors visit Washington on Friday.