Raptors snap skid, beat Heat in overtime
TORONTO—DeMar DeRozan had 42 points, and the Toronto Raptors snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Chicago Bulls by rallying for a wild 122-120 overtime win on Tuesday night.
DeRozan shot 17 of 38 from the floor and also collected eight assists. Cory Joseph had 19 points for the Raptors, and Serge Ibaka scored 16 before he was ejected for his role in a memorable fight with Robin Lopez during the third quarter.
Jimmy Butler had 37 points for the Bulls, and Rajon Rondo finished with 24. It was Chicago’s first loss to Toronto since Dec. 31, 2013.
HEAT 112, SUNS 97
MIAMI—Hassan Whiteside had 23 points and 14 rebounds before leaving late with a cut on his right hand, and the Heat cruised to the win.
Tyler Johnson scored 17 for Miami (35-36), which had seven players in double figures. Goran Dragic scored 16, Josh Richardson had 14 and Willie Reed added 12.
Marquese Chriss scored 24 for Phoenix (22-49), which lost its fifth straight and used only an eight-player rotation until the final minutes. Leandro Barbosa scored 13, Alex Len had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and T.J. Warren scored 12 for the Suns.
Whiteside was hurt with 2:08 left and the Heat leading by 24, when his hand got caught in the foam attached to the bottom of the backboard. He needed 13 stitches to close a cut between his middle and ring fingers, and he will be evaluated again on Wednesday.
NETS 98, PISTONS 96
NEW YORK—Brook Lopez made a jumper as time expired to give Brooklyn the win.
The Pistons, fighting for a playoff spot, wiped out a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to tie it at 96 on Tobias Harris’ follow shot with 2.4 seconds left.
Lopez then took the inbounds pass moving left, dribbled toward the baseline and shot the jumper as it appeared he might lose control of the ball, making the shot to cap a 29-point night.
Harris had 24 points for the Pistons, who dropped a game back of Miami for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets, playing without starting point guard Jeremy Lin because of a sprained right ankle, snapped a twogame losing streak.
PELICANS 95, GRIZZLIES 82
NEW ORLEANS—DeMarcus Cousins enjoyed his most prolific performance yet with New Orleans, finishing with 41 points and 17 rebounds.
Cousins hit five 3-pointers, tying a career high. He made five shots inside while being fouled for three-point plays and had the jubilant home crowd chanting his nickname, “Boogie.”
Cousins, who was acquired in a February trade with Sacramento, also blocked three shots and assisted on Anthony Davis’ crowd-pleasing alleyoop dunk.
Davis added 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Pelicans, who won for the fifth time in six games while snapping Memphis’ four-game winning streak.