Raptors top Kings for 6th in row
DeMar DeRozan scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter and the Toronto Raptors held off the Sacramento Kings 102-87 on Sunday for their sixth straight victory.
Kyle Lowry added 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists on an offnight shooting, Serge Ibaka scored 20 points, and C.J. Miles had 11 for the Raptors. They won for the first time in Sacramento since 2014.
Toronto led by 15 in the first half, but couldn’t shake the Kings until the third when DeRozan repeatedly got into the lane and to the free throw line. He also made two late baskets in the fourth quarter after Sacramento pulled to 90-83.
DeRozan shot 9 of 15 and was 7 of 11 on free throws while going over the 12,000-point mark for his career. He went into the day six points shy of the milestone.
That helped extend Toronto’s longest winning streak of the season and ended a four-game skid against Sacramento.
The teams will meet again in Toronto next Sunday.
Zach Randolph had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, and Buddy Hield added 17 points.
Two days after an overtime road victory in New Orleans, Sacramento couldn’t sustain the momentum and dug a hole with eight turnovers in the first quarter. Toronto scored the first 13 points and led 17-2 on DeRozan’s short jumper four minutes into the first quarter.
CELTICS 91, PISTONS 80 >> Al Horford had 18 points, Kyrie Irving added 16 and Boston got revenge for a rare loss, beating Detroit.
The Eastern Conference-leading Celtics bounced back from a loss Friday night at San Antonio, extending their feat of losing consecutive games only once this season.
The Pistons, meanwhile, have lost six straight for the first time since late in the 2014-15 season.
Boston shut down the Pistons after giving up a season-high 118 points to them in a loss at home last month. The Celtics held Detroit to a season low in points and forced it to miss two-thirds of its shots.
Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored 12 points, reserve Marcus Smart had 12 and smooth-shooting rookie Jayson Tatum 11. Tatum made a 3-pointer late in the game to help hold off a potential comeback.
Tobias Harris had 19 for Detroit. PACERS 126, NUGGETS 116 >> Victor Oladipo had a career-high 47 points and added seven rebounds and six assists to lead Indiana to an overtime win over Denver.
Oladipo made six 3-pointers with the biggest coming with 2:10 to play in the third quarter to give Indiana its first lead of the game. PELICANS 131, 76ERS 124 >> Jrue Holiday scored 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and New Orleans overcame an eight-point deficit in the final period to beat short-handed Philadelphia.
Anthony Davis added 29 points and DeMarcus Cousins 23 for New Orleans, which looked out-of-synch in the third quarter and in danger of dropping a second straight at home before Holiday took over. TIMBERWOLVES 97, MAVERICKS 92 >> Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points, Jimmy Butler scored 10 of his 22 in the fourth quarter and Minnesota held on for a win against Dallas.
Towns added 12 rebounds for his NBA-leading 21st double-double of the season. Minnesota committed 18 turnovers but hit four free throws at the end to pull away in a tight game the whole way.
Jamal Crawford had 16 points off the bench for the Timberwolves. KNICKS 111, HAWKS 107 >> Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points, Doug McDermott added 23 off the bench and New York withstood a late push from Atlanta for a victory.