Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – Kyle Lowry scored 19 points with seven
assists as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Orlando Magic, 104-100, on
Tuesday.
DeMar DeRozan scored 16 points, Terrence Ross hit four triples en route to 15
and James Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench for the Raptors. Johnson
also played tough defense on Tobias Harris on the game’s decisive possession,
forcing a miss with 1.9 seconds left.
DeRozan hit two free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining to put the game out of
reach.
The 7-1 Raptors are the lone one-loss team in the Eastern Conference.
Evan Fournier paced Orlando with 24 points while Harris went for 23 points and
13 rebounds. Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points with eight rebounds and six
assists and Channing Frye hit five 3-pointers for the Magic, who only got 14
points from their bench.
Toronto trailed 83-72 through three quarters, but Lou Williams and Patrick
Patterson hit consecutive threes to cap a swift 11-0 run that tied the game.
Fournier’s corner trey out of a timeout briefly silenced the crowd and the
Magic led until 6:36, when Patterson sank another long ball to give the
Raptors their first lead since the first quarter.
The lead was one when Patterson was fouled with 11.8 seconds left and split
the pair of free throws, setting up Harris’ final look at the basket.
Frye hit four jumpers — three 3-pointers and a long 2 — in the opening five
minutes to spot the Magic a 13-9 lead. He hit another shot with his foot on
the line to close out the first quarter, and Orlando was up 32-24 after one.
DeRozan’s jumper at 4:56 had Toronto within five, but that is as close as
the hosts would get before halftime. Fournier’s deep triple with just over a
minute left made it 60-49 and Lowry’s layup at the other end had the Raptors
within nine at halftime.
Harris, Vucevic and Fournier were the only three Orlando players to score in
the third quarter, but the trio combined to outscore Toronto, 23-21.
Game Notes
Raptors forward Landry Fields was inactive with the flu … Highly-touted
rookie Bruno Caboclo dressed but did not make his NBA debut … The Raptors
are 5-0 at home for the first time since 2003 … DeRozan needs just three
points to pass Andrea Bargnani for third on the franchise’s all-time scoring
list.
