DeRozan, Lowry propel Raptors
DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Kyle Lowry added 17 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 117-104 victory against the Magic last night in Orlando, Fla.
Pascal Siakam had 14 points, including 10 in the final five minutes as the Raptors pulled away for their 11th win in 13 games. Jakob Powell added 13 points and Fred Van Fleet had 12.
Evan Fournier and Mario Hezonja scored 17 apiece for Orlando, which has lost seven straight games. Nikola Vucevic added 14 points and Aaron Gordon had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic.
Both teams struggled to get defensive stops the entire game, but the Raptors finally dug in and defended for a five-minute window of the fourth quarter that put them in charge. Leading 9796, Toronto got stops on seven straight possessions, including two turnovers and a blocked shot, and outscored the Magic 13-2 in the run.
Siakam’s layup gave the Raptors a 110-98 lead with 3:20 left. It was one of four fast-break layups or dunks the Raptors had in that run.
Orlando never got closer than nine points the rest of the game.
Thunder 111, Mavericks 110 — Russell Westbrook scored 30 points, including the go-ahead three-point play in the final minute of overtime, and visiting Oklahoma City beat Dallas.
Westbrook, who had 11 rebounds and seven assists, drove for the tying layup and made the free throw with 38 seconds left in OT to help the playoff-contending Thunder salvage a fourgame split of the season series against a one-time postseason rival now among the NBA’s worst teams.
Pelicans 121, Spurs 116 — Anthony Davis had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and New Orleans rallied in the final two minutes to beat San Antonio, adding to the Spurs’ misery after losing LaMarcus Aldridge to an injury in the first half.
New Orleans won its seventh straight after trailing by as many as 15 points.
Pistons 110, Bucks 87 — Andre Drummond had 15 points and 16 rebounds, and host Detroit dominated inside in a victory against Milwaukee.
The Pistons outscored Milwaukee 56-34 in the paint and had 15 offensive rebounds in the first half alone. Blake Griffin had eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Detroit, which won for only the second time in eight games.
Warriors 109, Wizards 101 — A day after taking school kids to a museum instead of visiting President Donald Trump at the White House, Golden State won for the seventh time in eight games by beating host Washington as Kevin Durant scored 32 points, Stephen Curry added 25, and Klay Thompson limited Bradley Beal to eight.
Durant shot 12-for-20, Thompson scored 13, and Draymond Green contributed 11 points and 11 assists.
The Wizards were again without All-Star point guard John Wall, who sat out his 14th game in a row after surgery on his left knee.
Hawks 107, Pacers 102 — Dennis Schroder scored seven of his team’s final eight points to finish with 14, and host Atlanta held off a late Indiana comeback to post the victory.
John Collins had 16 points for the Hawks, who led by 23 before holding on late to end their four-game losing streak.
Suns 110, Grizzlies 102 — Devin Booker scored 34 points, Josh Jackson added a career-best 29 and visiting Phoenix snapped a 10-game losing streak by beating Memphis.
Rockets 105, Clippers 92 — James Harden scored 25 points and visiting Houston used a 34-12 first quarter to take control early and never looked back in beating Houston.