TORONTO (AP) DeMar DeRozan had 25 points, Kyle Lowry added 23 points and nine assists, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets 104-99 on Tuesday night.
Brook Lopez had 35 points, one shy of his season high, for the Nets, who lost the season series to the Raptors for the first time since 2009-10.
The Raptors rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to get back on track at home after their franchise-record, 12-game home win streak ended Sunday against Houston.
Toronto’s 58-42 halftime hole equaled its biggest of the season, done in a loss at Golden State in November.
The Raptors got within two courtesy of a 22-9 run over the final 5:55 of the third quarter and finally jumped in front on Patrick Patterson’s 3-pointer to open the fourth.
Three quick 3-pointers from Terrence Ross and Lowry enabled Toronto to turn a two-point deficit into a 10-point lead during a three-minute span. The Nets eventually closed that gap to three points on a couple of occasions down the stretch but could get no closer.
Thaddeus Young had 10 points in the first quarter as the Nets jumped into an early lead. But the Raptors never let the visitors get more than four points in front, and took the lead themselves for the first time on Ross’ 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining, ultimately taking a 28-23 edge into the second quarter.
The Nets responded by turning to their bench, and their reserves scored 20 points as the Raptors misfired, hitting just 20 percent from the floor on 3-of-15 shooting as Brooklyn built up a 16-point edge.
TIP-INS
Nets: With no games between Saturday’s loss in Minnesota and Tuesday’s game in Toronto, Brooklyn was afforded the chance to fly home for a brief respite during its season-high, nine-game road trip. While coach Tony Brown said he appreciated the chance to sleep in his own bed, at the end of the day, “it was quick, it wasn’t long and we’re back out on the road again obviously.” The away swing ends after Friday’s game in Philadelphia. . After signing a 10-day contract on Feb. 28, guard Sean Kilpatrick has made the most of his opportunity, scoring a career-high 19 points in Minnesota last Saturday for his second straight double-figure scoring game. He had just two such games in the 14 career appearances before that and Brown has been impressed with what he’s brought to the team. “He’s a hungry young man just looking for an opportunity to stay in the league,” Brown said. “From what I’ve seen so far he looks like he belongs and hopefully it continues.”
Raptors: With usual starter Luis Scola being rested in place of Jason Thompson, DeRozan is now the only Raptor to have started all 62 games this season. Norman Powell received his sixth career start, in place of James Johnson. . With the victory, the Raptors (10-1) joined Golden State (13-1), Oklahoma City (10-1) and San Antonio (10-2) as the only teams in the NBA to register 10 wins within their division. . With 10 points, Jonas Valanciunas has now reached double figures in a career-high 15 straight games, with Toronto posting a 24-8 record when the Lithuanian center scores 10 or more points. . Toronto set a franchise record by winning its 28th consecutive game when holding an opponent to under 100 points. The previous record was set between March 2009 and March 2010.
UP NEXT
Nets: Visit Philadelphia on Friday.
Raptors: Host Atlanta on Thursday.