Green light for Raptors Danny’s last minute heroics help Toronto win a thriller

Washington, Nov. 21: Danny Green sank a jump shot with half a second remaining on Tuesday to lift the Toronto Raptors over the Orlando Magic

93-91 and into the Eastern Conference lead.

Winning the dramatic Florida matchup improved the Raptors to

14-4 overall, a league-best

7-2 on the road and one game ahead of Milwaukee atop the East.

Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors with 18 points while Pascal Siakam added 15, Spain’s Serge Ibaka added 14 and Green finished with 13.

An Ibaka jumper put Toronto ahead 91-89 but the Magic equalised on a dunk with 2.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter by Evan Fournier, who led Orlando with 27 points.

But that only set the stage for Green’s last-second heroics.

“I just got a good look and got the shot up. Luckily it went in,” Green said. “We wanted to show some character and maturity and somehow find a way to execute. We did that.”

The Portland Trail Blazers seized the lead in the Western Conference with a 118-114 victory at New York, improving to

12-5, one game ahead of Memphis and defending champion Golden State.

C. J. McCollum scored 31 points.

At Miami, Brooklyn’s D’Angelo Russell scored

20 points to lead six Nets scorers in double figures in a 104-92 victory over the Heat.

Hassan Whiteside had game highs of 21 points and 23 rebounds in a losing cause.

Wizards win

The Washington Wizards, playing without injured center Dwight Howard, rallied from a 24-point first-half deficit with a stunning second-half revival to defeat the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 125-118. — AFP