Field Level Media
Mar 24, 2018
Kyle Lowry had 25 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds and Jonas Valanciunas added 23 points and eight rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors rally to a 116-112 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Fred VanVleet added 16 as the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors kept their lead to 4.5 games over the second-place Boston Celtics.
Pascal Siakam contributed 11 points and eight rebounds and Serge Ibaka scored 10 points for the Raptors.
D'Angelo Russell had 18 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his first career triple-double, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 18 points and seven rebounds and Allen Crabbe scored 18 points for the Nets.
DeMarre Carroll tallied 14 points, Jarrett Allen added 13 points and seven rebounds and Dante Cunningham scored 10 points as Brooklyn lost for the 21st time in its last 26 games.
Toronto had to overcome a 14-point third-quarter deficit to notch the victory. The Raptors outscored the Nets 32-21 over the final 12 minutes.
Lowry was 5 of 6 from 3-point range to raise his season total to 215, breaking his own franchise record (212 in 2015-16). The triple-double was his third of the season and the 12th of his career.
Brooklyn opened up a 78-67 lead in the third quarter after scoring eight straight points. Crabbe knocked down two 3-pointers during the surge.
The Nets led by as many as 14 later in the quarter and were up 89-76 before Toronto closed the gap with eight straight points. Caris LeVert hit a jumper with 1.3 seconds left to give Brooklyn a 91-84 advantage entering the final period.
The Raptors trailed by nine early in the fourth quarter before DeRozan scored nine points in less than three minutes to move Toronto within 95-94 with 8:29 to play.
The Raptors eventually moved ahead at 100-99 on two free throws by Lowry with 4:50 to play. The lead reached 110-103 on Lowry's 3-pointer with 1:36 left.
Crabbe and Carroll knocked down 3-pointers over the ensuing 62 seconds to bring Brooklyn within 112-109.
DeRozan drained two free throws to make it a five-point game with 30 seconds left as Toronto closed it out.
The Nets used a 9-2 run late in the first half to open up a seven-point lead and held a 64-59 lead at the break.
Valanciunas scored 15 first-half points for the Raptors.
Play was briefly halted with 8:13 remaining in the third quarter to make sure a rim was level.
--Field Level Media