Raptors clinch playoff spot due to Derozan’s brilliance
Star guard scores 42 points in OT win at Detroit
DETROIT — In the final seconds of both regulation and overtime, Demar Derozan pushed the ball up the court and went straight toward the basket.
The first time, he threw down a dunk for the game’s most spectacular highlight. Then a few minutes later, Derozan had the ball in his hands again in a similar spot.
“I knew they would be more prone to collapse on me the next time,” the Toronto star said.
With Detroit’s defenders cutting off his path to the rim, Derozan made a simple pass to Fred Vanvleet, whose tiebreaking jumper with 1.1 seconds remaining gave the Raptors a 121-119 victory over the Pistons on Wednesday night.
Derozan finished with 42 points in the overtime win, and Toronto became the first NBA team to clinch a playoff berth this season.
“We need to be hardened and face some adversity,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “Tonight was one of those tests. I think each game we go into, everybody’s going to give us their best shot.”
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 an open 3-pointer with about five seconds left on the shot clock. The rebound went to Derozan, who rushed into the frontcourt and got into the lane, where a couple defenders stood in his way. He passed to Vanvleet in the left corner.
Until then, Vanvleet was 1 for 9 from the field, but his shot from just inside the 3-point line gave Toronto the lead. At Milwaukee, James Harden scored 26 points and Houston won its 17th straight. The Rockets passed Boston for the longest winning streak in the NBA this season. Houston hasn’t lost since Jan. 26.
At Sacramento, Calif., Anthony Davis scored 17 points before rolling his left ankle and leaving in the third quarter, and New Orleans matched a franchise record with its 10th straight win.
At Denver, Lebron James had 39 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists and Cleveland won its second straight game. Larry
Rockets 110, Bucks 99 — Pelicans 114, Kings 101 — Cavaliers 113, Nuggets 108 —
Nance Jr. added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers. At Los Angeles, Brook Lopez hit two free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining and Los Angeles won for the sixth time in seven games. Lopez finished with 27 points and Kyle Kuzma added 20. At Chicago, Lauri Markkanen scored 22 points, Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn added 21 apiece, and Chicago hung on to hand Memphis its 15th straight loss.
At 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.
Lakers 108, Magic 107 — Bulls 119, Grizzlies 110 — Jazz 104, Pacers 84 —