The Sports Xchange
Nov 15, 2017
NEW ORLEANS -- DeMar DeRozan scored 17 of his team-high 25 points in the third quarter and Toronto placed six other players in double figures as the Raptors defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 125-116 on Wednesday night at the Smoothie King Center.
The Raptors (9-5) won their sixth consecutive game over the Pelicans (8-7). Toronto also has defeated New Orleans in 14 of its last 17 meetings. Kyle Lowry scored 22 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 21 points for the Raptors.
The Pelicans led by 14 points late in the first quarter, but the Raptors shot a blistering 59.2 percent for the game to pull away. Toronto made 16-of-34 from 3-point range.
New Orleans was led by DeMarcus Cousins with 25 points and Anthony Davis with 19.
DeRozan torched the Pelicans for 17 points in a 34-23 third quarter, and Toronto built a 98-86 lead after three. The Raptors closed the period on a 22-7 run.
The Raptors, who scored 76 points in the first half of a 129-113 victory over Houston on Monday night, made 9-of-19 3-pointers in the first half against the Pelicans to take a 64-63 lead.
C.J. Miles led the way on 3-of-6 shooting from long range, and the Raptors canned 61 percent from the field.
DeRozan led the Raptors with 12 first-half points, and Valanciunas and Miles added 11 apiece.
The Pelicans were led by Davis with 15 points in the first half, and Holiday added 12 but Davis and Cousins both had to sit with three fouls midway through the second quarter.
The Pelicans took their biggest lead, 30-16, on Davis' 3-pointer in the first quarter, but Toronto responded with a 29-14 run to take a 45-44 lead. Rondo had four points, eight assists and one steal in his 14 minutes of playing time but sat out the second half as a precaution against aggravating a core muscle injury.
NOTES: After playing five minutes Monday night for his first action of the season, PG Rajon Rondo made his first start for the Pelicans. Rondo is working his way back from sports hernia surgery. "We're just trying to get to the point where we're building his minutes up," coach Alvin Gentry said. "It's not anything that you can rush into. He's going to have to play himself into basketball shape, and that's going to take a little while." ... Toronto coach Dwane Casey said Rondo will give the Pelicans "another quarterback on the floor, another excellent passer, a computer on the floor that can see things. ... He's a roamer. If you have a one-on-one situation, he's going to roam and leave and whoever he's guarding has to be alert and present themselves."