Raptors tie team record for home wins
TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors have added another accolade to their record-breaking season.
DeMar DeRozan had 26 points as the Raptors roared past the Charlotte Hornets, 96-90, on Tuesday, tying their National Basketball Association franchise record of 30 home wins.
Lowry, who’d landed in Toronto (52-25) early Tuesday morning after watching his alma mater Villanova beat North Carolina in Mon- day’s thrilling NCAA final, had 21 points. Jonas Valanciunas added 12 points and 12 rebounds. Cory Joseph had 11 points and Patrick Patterson chipped in with 10 off the bench for the Raptors, who can break the record for home wins Friday when they host Indiana.
Jeremy Lin led the Hornets (44-33) with 21 points.
It was a solid victory for the Raptors, who set the pace early and led by as many as 19 points be- fore taking a 16-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Hornets chipped away at Toronto’s lead late in the fourth quarter, and when Marvin Williams drilled a three-pointer with 1:09 to play, it pulled Charlotte to within six. DeRozan responded with a driving hook shot with 40 seconds left, but Kemba Walker shot back with five straight points to pull the Hornets to within four.
A pair of Joseph free throws sealed Toronto’s victory.
All-stars DeRozan and Lowry were back in the lineup after sitting out Saturday’s 102-95 loss in San Antonio to rest.
The capacity crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Centre — that included Blue Jays legend and baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar — was the 76th straight sellout, a stretch that goes back to November 2014.
With five games left in their regular-season, two of them at the Air Canada Centre, the Raptors can finish no worse than a best-ever No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Positions three through eight, however, are still f ar from determined, with just four games separating the six teams heading into Tuesday’s action.
The Raptors may not know their post-season opponent until the 11th hour, but coach Dwane Casey says trying to determine their own fate can come back to bite them.
“I think the basketball gods will get you every time if you start trying to mess with the game,” Casey said. “You’ve got take what the schedule gives you or whoever the standings give you; you’ve got to look at it but you can’t sit here and say, I want to play them, I’d much rather play them, we match up better. No, you’ll get what you ask for.”
The Raptors were in control virtually from the opening whistle. They shot 50 per cent and doubled Charlotte on the boards in the first quarter, and led 26-16 going into the second. A DeRozan jumper late in the third quarter put the Raptors up by 19 points, their biggest lead of the game.