Lowry leads Raps past Jazz
TORONTO — Kyle Lowry scored 16 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Toronto Raptors to a comefrom-behind 101-93 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.
Lowry, who had 19 points in the final quarter of a comeback win at Utah two weeks ago, added six rebounds and five assists for the Raptors (24-11).
DeMar DeRozan had 23 points and seven rebounds, while Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and 13 rebounds as Toronto rallied from a deficit of 11 points in the second period.
The Jazz (22-15), who led for the first 44-plus minutes, were paced by Rudy Gobert’s 15 points and 16 rebounds. Shelvin Mack added 17 points and four rebounds.
It was the second straight loss for Utah, which committed 19 turnovers that led to 27 Toronto points.
DeRozan’s 18-foot jumper with 3:44 left gave the Raptors their first lead, 89-88. It was an advantage they never relinquished.
DeRozan took Lowry’s feed down the lane for a dunk to extend the lead to three. After a Jazz turnover, Lowry drilled a 3-pointer to put the Raptors ahead by six with 2:43 to go.
Gordon Hayward’s 3 and a pair of foul shots by Gobert cut the lead to one before Lowry’s driving layup widened the margin back to three points.
Lowry hit a 3 with five minutes remaining to cut Utah’s lead to 85-84. But on the next trip up the court, Rodney Hood answered with a 3 as the shot clock expired.
Utah led 73-71 going into the fourth quarter as defenses tightened at both ends in the third.
Each team barely cracked 30 percent from the field in the third quarter. Utah was 7 for 19, the Raptors 6 for 17 as Toronto tied the game for the first time since the opening period. But on several trips down court, the Raptors couldn’t get the basket to take their first lead of the night. SPURS 127, NUGGETS 99: In Denver, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points, including 11 while sparking a thirdquarter spurt, and San Antonio beat the Nuggets.
Kawhi Leonard added 24 points, while Tony Parker had 21 and a season-high nine assists for the Spurs, who improved to 17-3 on the road this season.
SUNS 102, MAVERICKS 95: In Dallas, Eric Bledsoe scored 26 points, including five straight to break a tie in the final two minutes, and Phoenix beat the Mavericks.
Devin Booker added 22 points as the Suns (12-25) won consecutive games for just the second time this season and denied the Mavericks (11-25) their third two-game winning streak in a matchup of Western Conference also-rans.
ROCKETS 118, THUNDER 116: In Houston, James Harden scored 26 points and Nene made two free throws with 0.7 seconds remaining to lift the Rockets to their sixth straight win, beating Oklahoma City.
Houston overcame Russell Westbrook’s 49 points, though the star guard struggled down the stretch.
Westbrook finished two points shy of his season high as Oklahoma City dropped its third straight.
HAWKS 99, PELICANS 94: In New Orleans, Dennis Schroder scored 23 points and Atlanta beat New Orleans to win its fifth straight, even as shooting guard Kyle Korver spent the entire game on the bench amid reports he could soon be traded to Cleveland.
PISTONS 115, HORNETS 114: In Auburn Hills, Mich., Marco Belinelli nearly pulled off one of the craftiest buzzer beaters in memory, but his bank shot was disallowed because it came too late, and Detroit held on against Charlotte.
Belinelli was inbounding from the sideline with 0.5 seconds remaining and the Hornets down by one. Detroit’s Marcus Morris was guarding the inbounder but had his back turned, and Belinelli bounced the ball off him and caught the carom. He then took a shot that banked in, but it was waved off — and a video review confirmed the basket came just after time expired.
PACERS 121, NETS 109: In Indianapolis, Jeff Teague had 21 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds and Myles Turner finished with 25 points and 15 boards as Indiana beat Brooklyn for its fourth consecutive victory.
TRAIL BLAZERS 118, LAKERS 109: In Portland, Ore., C.J. McCollum scored 27 points and Damian Lillard added 21 and 10 assists to lead Portland to a win over Los Angeles.
D’Angelo Russell scored 22 and Jordan Clarkson added 21 for the Lakers.