National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Toronto 96, Atlanta 86
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 23, 2014
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #26 Pat Fraher, #68 Marat Kogut
Attendance: 18140

Raptors 96, Hawks 86: Kyle Lowry scored nine of his game-high 25 points in the final 3:12 as host Toronto stormed back to beat Atlanta.

Lowry overcame early ineffectiveness to lift the Raptors to a 36-15 fourth-quarter scoring advantage as they maintained their lead of 1 1/2 games over the Brooklyn Nets in the race for top spot in the Atlantic Division. DeMar DeRozan added 21 points while Jonas Valanciunas contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds.

DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap had 17 points apiece for the Hawks, who blew an 11-point fourth-quarter lead en route to their second straight loss. Jeff Teague added 16 points while Mike Scott had eight off the bench.

Toronto cut a seven-point halftime gap to two on a Valanciunas hook shot just 2:17 into the third quarter, but went more than five minutes without a field goal as the Hawks pushed the lead back to double digits. Toronto stormed back early in the fourth, making it a one-point game on Lowry and DeRozan 3-pointers and surging ahead for good on Lowry's mid-range pull-up shot off glass with 3:12 remaining.

The Raptors got off to a dreadful start, shooting 5-for-18 while committing seven turnovers as the Hawks rode 12 points and four steals from Carroll to a 25-16 advantage after one quarter. The advantage grew to double digits on Lou Williams' jumper from the top of the arc with 10:37 remaining in the first half, but a Terrence Ross dunk spurred a late rally capped by a Valanciunas jam as Toronto trimmed the deficit to 49-42 going into the intermission.

GAME NOTEBOOK: SG Shelvin Mack made his second straight start for Kyle Korver, who remained in Atlanta with back spasms. ... Lowry added four of Toronto's 12 steals. ... Toronto finished with a 45-38 rebounding edge.
Top Game Performances
 
Atlanta   Toronto
DeMarre Carroll 17 Scoring Kyle Lowry 25
Jeff Teague 5 Assists Greivis Vasquez 5
Pero Antic 10 Rebounds Jonas Valanciunas 13
Jeff Teague 5 Free Throws Made Jonas Valanciunas 9
DeMarre Carroll 5 Steals Kyle Lowry 4
Paul Millsap 1 Blocks DeMar DeRozan 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Atlanta 86 43.4 5-20 15-20 17 38 2 13 18
Toronto 96 42.5 8-24 20-28 17 45 4 12 17
Upcoming Games
  • Toronto will play their next game on the road against Cleveland. The Raptors have a W/L % of .513 after a win and .633 after a loss.
  • Atlanta will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Hawks have a W/L % of .452 after a win and .459 after a loss.