Lowry scores 24 as Raptors hold off Spurs
Kyle Lowry turned in his best game since returning from injury, turning it on in the fourth quarter to help his Toronto Raptors grind out another home win.
Lowry scored nine of his 24 points in the final period, DeMar DeRozan added 21, and the Raptors beat San Antonio 8683 on Friday night to snap a four-game losing streak against the Spurs.
Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors improved to 17-3 at home, the second-best home record in the NBA behind San Antonio’s mark of 19-2.
Lowry made eight of 16 shots, going 4 of 9 from 3-point range, in his third game after missing three with a bruised tailbone.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey said Lowry looked stronger than he had in his previous two outings.
“I thought he had a lot of bounce,” Casey said.
Lowry got the Raptors off to a quick start, making a 3-pointer on his first shot of the game.
“Just being aggressive,” he said. “It’s that time of year when everyone is kind of hitting a little bit of a rut, a little bit of a lull. We’ve got to continue to get better and take the step on the journey to making us a better team.”
LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 14 rebounds, Pau Gasol scored 15 points and Patty Mills had 13 as San Antonio lost for the fourth time in six road games. The Spurs are 1115 away from home.
It had been more than two years since Toronto last beat San Antonio. The Raptors won 97-94 at home on Dec. 9, 2015.
“They’re a well-rounded group,” DeRozan said of the Spurs. “Everybody understands their roles and they play extremely hard.”
San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili missed his second straight game because of a sore right thigh. Ginobili returned to Texas after the Spurs won at Brooklyn on Wednesday.
The Spurs shot 34 percent, making 31 of 91 attempts. Their season worst was a 33.7 percent showing in an Oct. 27 loss at Orlando.
Toronto is 8-0 this season when holding opponents below 90 points.
NETS 101, HEAT 95 >> DeMarre Carroll scored 26 points, Spencer Dinwiddie had 15, and Brooklyn snapped a five-game losing skid at Barclays Center and a seven-game home losing streak to Miami. D’Angelo Russell played 14 minutes and went 0-for-5 from the field for Brooklyn in his first action after missing 32 games following left knee surgery. WIZARDS 122, PISTONS 112 >> Bradley Beal and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 26 points each, and Washington scored 45 points in the third quarter for the win in Detroit. The Pistons cut a 20-point second-half deficit to four in the fourth quarter, but John Wall made a big 3-pointer to put the Wizards up 107-100.
• Detroit forward Jon Leuer said before the game that he had decided to have season-ending ankle surgery. GRIZZLIES 106, KINGS 88 >> Dillon Brooks scored a career-best 22 points, Ben McLemore had a seasonhigh 21, and Memphis beat skidding Sacramento for its third consecutive win. The game marked Zach Randolph’s first return to Memphis since spending eight years with the Grizzlies. Randolph finished with four points and six rebounds for the Kings, who have lost seven straight.
LAKERS 99, PACERS 86 >> Reserve guard Jordan Clarkson sparked Los Angeles with 33 points. The Lakers, missing three injured starters, snapped a twogame skid despite making just two of 14 free throws. They shot 14.3 percent from the line, a franchise low. Victor Oladipo led the Pacers with 25 points.
KNICKS 117, JAZZ 115 >> Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 31 points, and New York rallied to beat Utah. Hardaway pulled up for a 3-pointer from the top of the arc and finished the four-point play after a foul, then added a dunk to give the Knicks a 109-100 advantage with 3:21 remaining. Utah’s Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 14 rebounds in his first game since Dec. 15 because of a sprained knee.