DeRozan’s shot rallies Raptors past Knicks
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For DeMar DeRozan, the moment of hitting a game-winning shot might as well resemble a quiet afternoon inside a silent gym during the middle of the summer as opposed to a road arena with the game on the line in the middle of a tight playoff race.
Pressure? If there was any, DeRozan was oblivious to it Monday night.
Instead, DeRozan just took the ball at one of his favorite spots on the court and sank the game-winning jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining as the Toronto Raptors ended an eventful day with a dramatic 92-91 victory over the New York Knicks.
DeRozan said of what goes through his mind in the final seconds, “Everything seemed like it just slowed down, the repetition that you do all summer and during the season over and over you honestly just get stuck in that zone for a couple of seconds.”
DeRozan scored 37 points and reached 30 points for the 25th time. He scored 14 points in the final 12 minutes, including the final 12 for Toronto (36-24), which won its fourth straight hours after announcing Kyle Lowry would undergo right wrist surgery Tuesday.
“We set up a play for him to get to his sweet spot,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “He did a good job. The key with that was that was Cory Joseph’s screen. He set a man screen, a solid screen to get DeMar open and that’s what we got to do.”
The Knicks called timeout as DeRozan was mobbed by his teammates and the game ended when Anthony’s 3-point attempt missed.
“You never want to lose,” DeRozan said. “When you get down big like that, you try to pick it up and fight harder. It’s a bad thing that we’re down that much but it just shows you the fight in us.”
Serge Ibaka added 15 points and Jonas Valanciunas contributed 10 as Toronto held the Knicks to 38 points after halftime.
Anthony led the Knicks with 24 points but shot 9 of 26 from the floor. Rose and Lee added 16 points apiece for New York, which was denied consecutive wins for the first time in over two months.
The Knicks (24-36) also were handed their 13th loss by five points or less.
“It’s a tough one to lose especially like that,” Anthony said. “There were a couple of things we could have taken advantage of but it came down to that last shot that I missed.”
Pacers 117, Rockets 108
Jeff Teague and Rodney Stuckey co-authored a rousing comeback as Indiana erased a 17-point deficit and shocked Houston 117-108 at Toyota Center.
Teague finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Stuckey added 17 points.
Lou Williams scored 28 points off the bench for Houston. James Harden added 25 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists.
Cavaliers 102, Bucks 95
LeBron James scored 24 points upon return from strep throat and Cleveland beat Milwaukee.
James added 10 rebounds and six assists. Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 20 points and added nine assists for the Cavs. Rookie Malcolm Brogdon paced the Bucks with 20 points.
Hawks 114, Celtics 98
Despite losing Dwight Howard to two technical fouls, Atlanta blew open a tight game with a third-quarter explosion and ended a three-game losing streak.
Dennis Schroder had 21 points, five assists and four rebounds. Paul Millsap had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Howard finished 17 points and 12 boards and Kent Bazemore added 15 points for the Hawks.
Isaiah Thomas had his worst game of the season for the Celtics, scoring 19 points as his club record of 43 straight 20-point games ended.
Warriors 119, 76ers 108
Kevin Durant scored 27 points and Klay Thompson added 21 as Golden State beat Philadelphia.
Zaza Pachulia added a season-high 16 points and Draymond Green contributed 14 points, 11 rebounds and five steals.
Dario Saric finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Philadelphia. Gerald Henderson contributed 16 points.
Mavericks 96, Heat 89
Seth Curry scored a game-high 29 points to help Dallas cool off Miami at the American Airlines Center.
Dion Waiters had 12 points but was 2 of 5 from beyond the arc. Hassan Whiteside went for 19 points and 19 rebounds and Goran Dragic poured in 24 points and added six assists and five rebounds for the Heat.
Timberwolves 102, Kings 88
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points and added 17 rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins scored 27 as Minnesota routed Sacramento.
Towns recorded his fourth straight double-double. Wiggins topped 20 points for the 18th consecutive game. Kosta Koufos had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings.