DeRozan rises as Raptors roll
DeMar DeRozan had 27 points, Kyle Lowry added 25 and the Raptors handed the Minnesota Timberwolves a 13th straight loss, 124-110, last night in Toronto.
Lowry was 5-of-7 from 3-point range and had 11 assists, and Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds for his team-leading sixth double-double of the season.
Zach Lavine scored 29 points for the Timberwolves, and Toronto-area native Andrew Wiggins had 25. Center Karl-Anthony Towns added 17 points and 11 rebounds, but was unable to halt Minnesota’s Canadian woes. The Timberwolves last won at the Air Canada Centre on Jan. 21, 2004.
After back-and-forth play that featured 11 lead changes, Lowry seized control for the Raptors, pouncing on Wiggins’ errant pass and racing up court. He promptly fed Terrence Ross, who threw down a one-handed jam to put the Raptors up by six with 6:18 to play.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Lowry and Patrick Patterson made it a 12-point lead with 4:47 to play, and though LaVine’s 3-pointer closed that gap to seven with 3:06 remaining, the Timberwolves could get no closer.
The Raptors visit the Celtics tonight at the Garden.
DeRozan played his 543rd game for the Raptors, breaking a tie with Morris Peterson for the most in team history.
Bulls 95, Spurs 91 — Dwyane Wade scored 20 points, and Chicago handed San Antonio its first road loss after a 13-0 start.
San Antonio fell one win shy of matching the NBA’s best road start set by the Golden State Warriors last season. The Spurs cut an 18-point deficit midway through the third quarter to four in the closing minutes, only to come up short.
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 for San Antonio. Patty Mills added 16 points, hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers. Former Bull Pau Gasol had 13 points and 10 rebounds in his first game in Chicago since signing with San Antonio in the summer, but the Spurs lost a road game for the first time since Oklahoma City knocked them out in the Western Conference semifinals last season. Wizards 92, Nuggets 85 — Overcoming a sluggish start in front of a sparse, silent crowd and with a malfunctioning scoreboard, host Washington came back to take the victory thanks mainly to Bradley Beal’s 26 points and Denver’s season-high 29 turnovers.
John Wall scored only 15 points one game after a career-best 52, but nine came in the fourth quarter for Washington, which trailed by as many as 14 in the first half. 76ers 99, Pelicans 88 — Ersan Ilyasova scored 23 points, Sergio Rodriguez added 16, and Philadelphia snapped a franchise record-tying 23-game road losing streak by beating a reeling New Orleans team.
The Pelicans became the first team to lose at home to the Sixers since last season when Orlando fell to Philadelphia on Jan. 20.
Joel Embiid had 14 points and blocked four shots to go with three steals. Nik Stauskas also scored 14 points, hitting five of seven shots. Warriors 106, Jazz 99 — Stephen Curry scored 26 and Golden State controlled Utah from start to finish in a victory in Salt Lake City. Curry scored 14 points during a 29-1 run that made it 29-5. The Jazz’s only lead of the game was 4-2.
Kevin Durant added 21 points and 11 rebounds for Golden State. Grizzlies 88, Trail Blazers 86 — Marc Gasol scored 36 points and Toney Douglas made two free throws with less than a second left to give host Memphis a comeback victory over Portland.
Douglas finished with 11 points, scoring the game’s final six points to seal Memphis’ fifth straight victory.