DeRozan scores 31 in Raptors’ rout of Nets
TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points, and Kyle Lowry recorded the 11 triple-double of his career — 10 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds — to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 120-87 rout of the Brooklyn Nets.
Serge Ibaka had 18 points, while Jonas Valanciunas added 14, and Jakob Poeltl and Norman Powell finished with 11 points apiece in Friday’s game.
The Raptors (19-8) have won eight of their last nine games, and improved their NBA-best home record to 10-1.
Canadian Nik Stauskas scored a team-high 22 points in his Nets debut.
The Raptors dominated Brooklyn (11-17) en route to their ninth consecutive victory versus the Nets. Brooklyn’s one outburst came thanks to Staukas, whose personal 9-0 run to open the second quarter briefly gave the Nets the lead.
But by the time DeRozan drained a three-pointer — his first since Nov. 22 — with just under a minute left in the fourth quarter, the Raptors were up by 27. They cruised into the fourth quarter with a 91-64 advantage in front of a capacity Air Canada Centre crowd that included Toronto FC striker, and new MLS Cup champion, Sebastian Giovinco.
Delon Wright returned after missing the previous 12 games with a shoulder injury, and the backup guard’s alley-oop to Pascal Siakam put the Raptors up by 30 early in the fourth. Toronto’s second unit didn’t let up and Wright’s dunk with 3:14 left made it a 35-point advantage, as dozens of fans beat a hasty exit.
The Raptors shot 56 per cent on the night, and made the Nets pay for their 24 turnovers to the tune of 35 points.
Stauskas, who was the No. 8 pick in the 2014 NBA draft but has wallowed at the end of the 76ers bench, made his Nets debut after being acquired, along with Jahlil Okafor, in a trade last week with Philadelphia.
The Nets, with three games in four nights, rested DeMarre Carroll. The former Raptor was critical of Toronto after he was traded to the Nets in the off-season, saying the team relied too heavily on isolation basketball. He had kind words for his former team Friday.
“They’re moving the ball, they’re sharing it, they’re playing great basketball,” Carroll said. “My hat goes off to them. It’s an exciting style of basketball they’re playing, and they look like they’re the top of the East and the top of the league right now.”
DeRozan, who was coming off a season-high 37 points in Wednesday’s 115-109 win in Phoenix, led the way with 12 first-quarter points, and his alley-oop dunk from Lowry gave the Raptors an early 11-point lead. Toronto took a 30-20 advantage into the second quarter. Stauskas drilled three straight threes to open the second quarter, and then converted a three-point play to put the Nets up by four. But the Raptors outscored their visitors 28-10 to close the half.