Lowry gives Raptors a lift
Kyle Lowry was already ill, then he was injured.
Neither was going to keep him off the floor with the Toronto Raptors badly needing a victory.
Lowry finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his ninth career triple-double, and the Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets, 103-95, yesterday in New York.
Already feeling sick, Lowry needed four stitches after cutting his right forearm on a camera mounted to the basket stanchion. But he played more than 39 minutes and recorded his first triple-double of the season.
“It’s a part of the game. You’re going to get injured, you’re going to get hurt,” Lowry said. “It’s just how you find ways to get through it, and I’m always going to find a way to get through it.”
Playing again without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan, the slumping Raptors ended a two-game skid and won for just the third time in 11 games. Jonas Valanciunas led them with 22 points.
Terrence Ross had 17 points for the Raptors, who extended their longest winning streak ever against the Nets to eight.
Brook Lopez scored 20 for the Nets, who had 16 turnovers in the first half and finished with 22. They have lost nine in a row overall and 12 straight at home, where they haven’t won in 2017.
DeRozan has missed seven of the last eight games because of right ankle injuries during a frustrating time for the Raptors, who snapped a five-game road losing streak.
“Good teams, bad teams, whatever it is, frustration’s a part that you’ve got to fight through as a team,” coach Dwane Casey said.
Thunder 105, Trail Blazers 99 — Russell Westbrook scored 19 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter, leading host Oklahoma City to a victory over Portland.
Westbrook also had eight assists and four rebounds in his eighth 40-point performance of the season. Victor Oladipo added 24 points and 13 boards, helping Oklahoma City move within a half-game of idle Memphis for sixth in the Western Conference.
Damian Lillard had 29 points and seven rebounds for Portland (22-30), which has dropped three of four. C.J. McCollum added 19 points and eight boards.
Westbrook punctuated his big day with a 3-pointer with 1:18 remaining, lifting Oklahoma City to a 100-93 lead. He capped it off by hitting five free throws in the final minute as the crowd chanted “MVP! MVP!”