Bench puts Raptors in prime spot

Before the season even began, C.J. Miles admitted he and his teammates boasted about just how good his Toronto Raptors’ bench might be.

“We’ve been saying we’re the best bench in the league since Day 1,” he said. “And if it wasn’t true then, it’s got to be true now.”

Miles led the charge of Toronto reserves yesterday, as he scored 24 points while starter DeMar DeRozan had 25 points and eight assists as the Raptors routed the Hornets, 123-103, in Charlotte, N.C.

Six players scored in double figures for the Raptors, who won their fifth straight game and improved to 39-16 to go a half-game up on the Celtics in the Eastern Conference.

Dwane Casey earned his 300th victory as Raptors head coach.

Miles shot 6-of-9 from 3-point range as Toronto sank 48.6 percent from long-distance overall.

He led a charge of Raptors reserves who outscored the Hornets’ bench players 55-46.

“They’re phenomenal,” Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said. “Our young guys are phenomenal and we really need them. We love continuing to see them grow. They’re growing and playing well and it makes it unbelievable.”

It was the starters who helped Toronto pull away in the third quarter, though.

Fred VanVleet added 10 points and four assists off the bench for Toronto.

Hawks 118, Pistons 115 — Dewayne Dedmon gave Atlanta the lead with a three-point play and then padded the margin with a 3-pointer, lifting host Atlanta to a win over Blake Griffin and Detroit.

Dedmon matched his career high with 20 points and had 13 rebounds in his matchup with Andre Drummond, who had 25 points and 15 rebounds for Detroit.

Pacers 121, Knicks 113 — Victor Oladipo had 30 points, nine assists and eight rebounds to lead his team to victory over New York in Indianapolis.

Bojan Bogdanovic made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points and Thaddeus Young added 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Pacers.

Thunder 110, Grizzlies 92 — Paul George scored 33 points to help undermanned Oklahoma City beat visiting Memphis without fellow stars Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony.

The All-Star forward carried more of the load than usual with Westbrook (sprained left ankle) and Anthony (sprained right ankle) sidelined.

Timberwolves 111, Kings 106 — Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points, Jeff Teague added 12 points and 10 assists and Minnesota overcame an uncharacteristic sloppy performance (17 turnovers) to beat Sacramento in Minneapolis. It was Minnesota’s 13th straight home win.

Rockets 104, Mavericks 97 — James Harden scored 27 points, Chris Paul added 25 and host Houston rolled over Dallas for its eighth straight win.

Jazz 115, Trail Blazers 96 — Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points and newcomer Jae Crowder had 15 in his debut for Utah, which won its 10th straight game, beating host Portland.