DeRozan goes for 52 as Raptors nip Bucks
DeMar DeRozan scored a franchise-record 52 points, and the Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 131-127, in overtime last night in Toronto, matching the team record with their 12th consecutive home victory.
DeRozan is the third player in Raptors history to score 50 or more in a single game. The others are Vince Carter and Terrence Ross, who each had 51.
Kyle Lowry had 26 points and Serge Ibaka added 11 for the Raptors, who also won 12 straight at Air Canada Centre between Jan. 18 and March 6, 2016. Toronto is an NBA-best 14-1 at home.
DeRozan made 17-of-29 field-goal attempts and shot 13-for-13 at the freethrow line. His five 3-pointers were one shy of his career high.
Eric Bledsoe scored 29 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 for the Bucks, who had won their previous two. Khris Middleton finished with 18 points in the entertaining rematch between firstround playoff opponents from last season, a series Toronto won in six.
Timberwolves 114, Lakers 96 — In Minneapolis, Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and streaking Minnesota started fast and held off struggling Los Angeles.
Karl-Anthony Towns recorded his 30th doubledouble of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds to help Minnesota win for the seventh time in eight games and 10th in 13.
Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds. Gorgui Dieng had 17 points off the bench.
Nets 98, Magic 95 — Rookie Jarrett Allen had a career-high 16 points, Allen Crabbe added 15 points and blocked a potential tying shot, and Brooklyn edged Orlando in New York.
Caris LeVert also had 15 points, while DeMarre Carroll chipped in 14 points, 10 rebounds and the tiebreaking free throw with 34.5 seconds remaining. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 13 for the Nets, who opened up the new year with a win after closing out 2017 with a 1-4 road trip.
Trail Blazers 124, Bulls 120 — C.J. McCollum scored 25 of his 32 points after halftime, including the tiebreaking basket with 56.5 seconds remaining in overtime, and visiting Portland beat Chicago.
Al-Farouq Aminu added a season-high 24 points and Evan Turner also had his season best with 22 for Portland, which was without leading scorer Damian Lillard for a fifth straight game.
Elsewhere in the NBA — Houston Rockets star James Harden will miss at least two weeks with a left hamstring strain.
The team announced the NBA’s leading scorer has a grade 2 strain and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Harden was injured on a missed layup late in the fourth quarter of Houston’s 148-142 double-overtime win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.