Nets’ slide at 11 with latest loss
DeMar DeRozan had 36 points and 11 rebounds, Cory Joseph scored a career-high 33 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the free-falling Brooklyn Nets, 119-109, last night in New York.
Atlantic Division-leading Toronto won its fourth straight game and extended Brooklyn’s losing streak to 11 in a row.
Terrence Ross added 15 points for the Raptors, who opened the game with an 11-0 run but fell behind after the first quarter. Brooklyn rallied to take a 29-26 lead at the end of the first.
Brook Lopez had 28 points for the Nets. Caris LeVert and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 14 apiece.
Toronto took a 92-85 lead into the fourth quarter and never looked back. DeRozan led the way with 10 points in the third period, equaling LeVert’s total in the quarter.
Joseph started for the first time since April 8, 2016, as Kyle Lowry dressed but did not play. Lucas Nogueria experienced blurred vision and was checked for a concussion in the Raptors locker room after being hit in the head during the first quarter; he did not return. Jeremy Lin (hamstring) remains out of the Nets lineup. Heat 109, Rockets 103 — Goran Dragic had 21 points and eight assists, Wayne Ellington scored 18 points off the bench and host Miami overcame another triple-double from James Harden to beat Houston.
An 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter put the Heat up for good.
Dion Waiters scored 17 points, Tyler Johnson had 16 and James Johnson added 15 for Miami. Hassan Whiteside finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Harden had 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Rockets, his 13th triple-double of the season.
Mavericks 99, Bulls 98 — Wesley Matthews made a goahead 3-pointer from the wing with 12 seconds left, and visiting Dallas downed Chicago for its first three-game winning streak of the season.
Six players scored in double figures for the Mavericks, including all five starters. Harrison Barnes had 20 points, Seth Curry added 18 and Dirk Nowitzki finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Chicago had one last chance after the Matthews make, but Dwyane Wade missed from the corner on his 35th birthday as time expired.
Spurs 122, Timberwolves 114 — Kawhi Leonard had 34 points, his fourth consecutive game with 30 or more, and San Antonio overcame a strong start by Minnesota to score the victory.
Coming off a career-high 38 on Saturday against Phoenix in Mexico City, Leonard shot 12-for-17 from the field. LaMarcus Aldridge added 29 points.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Timberwolves, and Ricky Rubio added 21 points and 14 assists.
Nuggets 127, Lakers 121 — Nikola Jokic had 29 points and 15 rebounds and visiting Denver held off a fourthquarter rally by Los Angeles to pull out the victory.
Elsewhere in the NBA — The Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul will undergo surgery today to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.