Raptors overcome slow start to top Hornets
DeMar DeRozan scored 18 of his 28 points after halftime and the Toronto Raptors overcame a slow start to beat the Charlotte Hornets 129-111 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight win.
Serge Ibaka scored 15 of his 24 points in the first half for Toronto, and OG Anunoby shot 6 of 7 from beyond the arc while scoring 20 points. Toronto has won 10 of 11 and is in third place in the Eastern Conference.
The Hornets got a career-best 32 points from reserve Jeremy Lamb but lost for the 11th time in 13 games.
Charlotte closed the first quarter on a 14-2 run to lead 26-22, but the game turned with a 12-2 Toronto run early in the second quarter. The Raptors scored 41 points in the second period en route to a 63-47 halftime lead. Toronto had 10 assists and hit 15 of 23 shots, including 6 of 9 3-pointers, in the quarter.
The Raptors connected on 8 of 13 3-point shots in the first half. They finished 16 of 33. Victor Oladipo scored 23 points, Myles Turner had 20 and the Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks. Bojan Bogdanovic had 19 points as Indiana won for the second time in five games. The Pacers rallied from a sluggish start to shoot 48.8 percent. Atlanta has yet to win consecutive games this season and dropped to 7-24. The Hawks bench outscored Indiana’s 46-28, led by 18 points and nine rebounds from John Collins. Marco Belinelli added 13 points off the bench, and Kent Bazemore led Atlanta’s starters with 13.
George Hill scored 22 points, Zach Randolph added 21 and the Sacramento Kings completed their first back-to-back sweep of the season by beating the Brooklyn Nets. Denzel Valentine had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Nikola Mirotic had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Orlando Magic for their seventh straight win. The Bulls had lost 10 straight with Mirotic out of the lineup prior to his return Dec. 8, and they haven’t lost since to improve to 10-20. Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points for Orlando, which lost its sixth in a row.
Kelly Olynyk scored a careerhigh 32 points in his rousing return to Boston, and the undermanned Miami Heat hung on for a victory over the Celtics. On a night when the Celtics honored their former forward in his first game back, the popular Olynyk received a standing ovation from Boston fans and led the Heat (16-15) to another win against the top team in the Eastern Conference.
Rookie Kyle Kuzma set career highs with 38 points and seven 3-pointers, and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame 51 points from James Harden to end the Houston Rockets’ 14-game winning streak with a victory. Russell Westbrook had 24 points and 10 rebounds to help the Oklahoma City Thunder roll past the Utah Jazz.
Harrison Barnes scored 25 points, rookie Dennis Smith Jr. had 15 points and five assists in his return from a hip injury and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons. The Mavericks, last in the Western Conference, won for just the second time in eight games while ending a three-game Detroit winning streak that followed seven straight losses by the Pistons