Raptors’ OT win clinches playoff spot
DeMar DeRozan scored 42 points, then fed Fred VanVleet for the tiebreaking jumper from the left corner with 1.1 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Toronto Raptors to a 121-119 victory against the Pistons last night in Detroit.
The Raptors became the first NBA team to clinch a playoff berth this season. Toronto trailed by 17 in the second quarter but was able to outlast Blake Griffin and the Pistons in a back-and-forth thriller.
With the score tied late in overtime, Detroit’s Reggie Bullock missed from the perimeter. DeRozan pushed the ball up the court and found VanVleet open in the corner. His shot from just inside the 3-point line gave Toronto the lead.
Griffin, who had tied the game with less than a second remaining in regulation, missed a 3-pointer on the final possession of overtime.
The Eastern Conference-leading Raptors have won six straight and 13 of 14. Detroit has lost four in a row and 10 of 12.
Rockets 110, Bucks 99 — James Harden scored 26 points, Eric Gordon had 18 points and two momentum-swinging 3-pointers in the third quarter, and visiting Houston beat Milwaukee for its 17th straight win.
The Rockets passed the Celtics for the longest winning streak in the NBA this season. Houston hasn’t lost since Jan. 26 at New Orleans.
The latest victory came on the second of a tough backto-back stretch of road games that started with a 10-point victory at Oklahoma City.
Jazz 104, Pacers 84 — In Indianapolis, Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell finished with 20 points and six assists, and Utah snapped Indiana’s fourgame winning streak.
The Jazz improved to 15-2 over their last 17 games. Ricky Rubio finished with 18 points and seven assists for Utah, and reserve Jae Crowder added 16 points. Joe Ingles had 11 points and 10 assists.
Bulls 119, Grizzlies 110 — Lauri Markkanen scored 22 points, Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn added 21 apiece, and host Chicago hung on to hand Memphis its 15th straight loss.
The Bulls will start playing Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday again after receiving a reminder from the league about player rest and tanking.
Elsewhere in the NBA — The NBA says it is reviewing 2011 allegations of sexual assault against Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and the decision by prosecutors not to pursue the case.
League spokesman Mike Bass said yesterday the NBA was looking into the matter after a weekly alternative newspaper in Portland, Ore., reported a woman’s claim that Cuban put his hands down her pants and touched her inappropriately while they were taking a photo at a Port- land nightclub.
The report Tuesday in the Willamette Week came about a week and half after a Sports Illustrated account that portrayed a hostile work environment for women in the front office of the Mavericks. While Cuban wasn’t implicated, the SI report raised questions about what he knew and when.
Cuban flatly denied the woman’s allegations and provided a prosecutors’ report detailing the decision not to file charges.