Raptors erupt, survive Heat
MIAMI – DeMar DeRozan scored 40 points, marking the first time he’s had that many in consecutive games as the Toronto Raptors pulled off their 19th doubledigit comeback of the season to beat the Miami Heat 101-84 in the NBA on Thursday night.
DeRozan shot 14 for 25 from the field and 12 for 13 from the line. He needed 38 shots to score 42 against Chicago on Tuesday.
Norman Powell scored 14 and Delon Wright added 13 for Toronto, which never led until midway through the third quarter. The Raptors allowed 33 points in the first quarter, then held Miami to 35 points over the next 27 minutes.
Playing with 13 stitches in his right hand, Hassan Whiteside scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Miami. Rodney McGruder and Goran Dragic each had 13 points for the Heat, with Dragic shooting just 5 for 18.
In San Antonio, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points and Kawhi Leonard added 19 as San Antonio beat Memphis, 97-90, in a possible first-round playoff preview.
San Antonio opened a fourgame homestand by moving two games behind idle Golden State for the league’s best record. The Spurs (55-16) close the homestand against the Warriors (57-14) next Wednesday.
Memphis (40-32) is seventh in the Western Conference, which would result in a first-round matchup with San Antonio if the standings remain.
Mike Conley had 22 points and six assists for Memphis, which lost its third straight to fall 1 1/2 games behind Oklahoma City for sixth place.
Marc Gasol, who had 13 points, was the only other Grizzlies player in double figures.
In Dallas, Harrison Barnes made the go-ahead basket, then stole the ball from Blake Griffin with 3.9 seconds left as Dallas beat Los Angeles Clippers, 97-95.
Barnes made a 14-foot jumper with 1:06 remaining for the game’s 11th lead change, making it 96-95.
After he stripped Griffin, Wesley Matthews made a free throw with 0.9 seconds to play before J.J. Redick missed a 3-point attempt that would have won it at the buzzer.
Griffin scored 21 points, including nine in a row in the fourth quarter, but the Clippers had their three-game winning streak snapped. Dallas, battling for a playoff berth, had lost four of six.
In other games, it was Nets 126, Suns 98; Trailblazers 110, Knicks 95.