Raps win sixth straight
DeMar DeRozan leads Toronto to victory in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — 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 off-night 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 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.
Sacramento cut it to five going into the second and went ahead 29-28 on Frank Mason’s two free throws with 8:06 left before the Raptors went on another run late to go up 54-46 at halftime.
The Kings cut it to 67-64 on Bogdan Bogdanovich’s 3-pointer midway through the third, but Lowry scored on a three-point play, added a 16-foot baseline jumper and made two free throws to help the Raptors pull away.
TIP-INS: The game was Dwane Casey’s 500th as Toronto’s coach. ... Lowry shot 4 of 17 and was 3 of 12 beyond the arc.
UP NEXT: The Raptors face the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.
Celtics beat Pistons 91-80, getting revenge for rare loss
DETROIT — Al Horford had 18 points, Kyrie Irving scored 16 and the Boston Celtics get revenge for a rare loss, beating the Detroit Pistons 91-80 on Sunday.
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’ offence after giving up a seasonhigh 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 twothirds of its shots.
Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored 12, reserve Marcus Smart had 12 points and smooth-shooting rookie Jayson Tatum scored 11. Tatum made a 3-pointer late in the game to help hold off a potential comeback by the Pistons.
Detroit’s Tobias Harris scored 19, reserve Anthony Tolliver had 15 points and Avery Bradley scored 12 against his former team. Ish Smith added 11 points off the bench, taking advantage of an opportunity to play in place of cold-shooting Reggie Jackson.
TIP-INS: Marcus Morris, who was acquired in last summer’s trade with Detroit for Bradley, didn’t play and is expected to sit out the next game before having his left knee evaluated in Boston.
UP NEXT: The Celtics wrap up a three-game road trip Monday night at Chicago.