National Basketball Association
Toronto 110, Portland 103
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 4, 2016
Where: Moda Center at the Rose Quarter, Portland, Oregon
Officials:
#43 Dan Crawford, #16 David Guthrie, #21 Dedric Taylor
Attendance:
19393
By The Sports Xchange
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Two of the NBA's hottest teams took the court at the Moda Center on Thursday night, and it was the Toronto Raptors who maintained the sizzle.
All-Star guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combined for 59 points as the Raptors beat Portland 110-103 to end the Trail Blazers' five-game win streak.
Lowry scored 30 points with eight assists, bombing in 7 of 10 attempts from 3-point range. DeRozan added 29 points for the Raptors (34-16), who won for the 13th time in their last 14 outings. Center Jonas Valenciunas chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds for Toronto.
"We're just a complete team," Lowry said. "We always say that, and we really mean it. You need know whose time it's going to be. You know -- next man up. Everybody has been playing good, and we've got to just keep growing and getting better."
Guard Damian Lillard collected 27 points and 11 assists while guard CJ McCollum had 21 points for the Trail Blazers (24-27), who lost for only the third time in 12 games. Guard Allen Crabbe added 17 points off the Portland bench.
Toronto jumped in front by 14 points and scored 37 points in the first quarter, and the Blazers played from behind the rest of the way. The Raptors were 6 for 7 from 3-point range in the first quarter and 12 for 19 for the game.
"Our first-quarter defense wasn't even close to being good enough, especially against a really good team," Lillard said. "We still fought and gave ourselves a chance to win the game. They shot the ball really well. We made a few mistakes that allowed them to get going, but you have to take your hat off to them. They outplayed us tonight."
DeRozan and Lowry combined for 25 points to stake Toronto to a 59-51 lead at halftime. DeRozan scored 14 points and Lowry 11 in the first half while Valenciunas had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Toronto increased its lead to 66-54, but the Blazers rallied to get within 73-69. The Raptors took an 82-75 advantage into the final period.
Portland trimmed the margin to 84-81, but Lowry scored eight points in an 11-0 Toronto run to hike the lead to 94-81 with 6:52 remaining. The Blazers cut the difference to 101-93 after a Lillard trey with 3:12 to play. Lillard's jumper got them to within 106-99 with 1:19 to go, and a pair of foul shots by guard Allen Crabbe made it 106-101 with 55.3 seconds left.
Lillard stole a pass, but McCollum missed a jumper, and Valenciunas converted a pair at the line for a 108-101 Toronto advantage with 33.9 seconds remaining.
"Every team is going to make a run," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "Our guys are getting used to teams giving us their best shot. I like the fight our guys are showing. Not picture perfect, but the effort was picture perfect."
Portland coach Terry Stotts wasn't displeased with his players' effort, either.
"There's a reason why (the Raptors) have the second-best record in the East," Stotts said. "They shot the ball extremely well from distance. We were close. We could have played better, but I don't think we're that far off, either."
DeRozan (12) and Lowry (six) combined for all of the points as Toronto took a 18-12 lead to start the game. The Raptors upped the margin to 37-23. It was 37-25 at the first-quarter break and 43-27 early in the second quarter before the Blazers used a 7-0 run to close the gap to 43-34.
Portland trimmed the difference to 53-47, and the Raptors settled for an eight-point bulge at the half.
NOTES: Toronto snapped a seven-game losing streak in Portland. The Raptors had won only one of their last 12 road games against the Blazers dating to 2002. ...Lillard was 1 for 7 from the field in the first half and missed eight of his first nine shots. He finished with 8-for-20 shooting. ... Portland was without starting F Noah Vonleh (ankle). Toronto was without starting F DeMarre Carroll (knee). ... Toronto G Kyle Lowry will participate in the 3-point contest and Portland G CJ McCollum will take part in the skills challenge during All-Star weekend. Lowry was a participant in the skills challenge a year ago. "That was fun, but I think the 3-point contest will be even better," Lowry said. ... Portland coach Terry Stotts and Toronto coach Dwane Casey worked together for eight years as assistants on two staffs -- four in Seattle under George Karl, four in Dallas under Rick Carlisle. Stotts and Casey were with the Mavericks when they won the NBA championship in 2011. "We've been through a lot together," Stotts said. "We both have a good appreciation for the other. Dwane is very competitive and passionate about the game. He's tough-minded. He gains the respect of his players wherever he has been.
Top Game Performances
Toronto |
|
Portland |
Kyle Lowry 30 |
Scoring |
Damian Lillard 27 |
Kyle Lowry 8 |
Assists |
Damian Lillard 11 |
Jonas Valanciunas 11 |
Rebounds |
Ed Davis 7 |
DeMar DeRozan 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Damian Lillard 9 |
Patrick Patterson 3 |
Steals |
Allen Crabbe 2 |
Kyle Lowry 2 |
Blocks |
Maurice Harkless 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Toronto
|
110 |
47.1 |
12-19 |
18-25 |
23 |
45 |
6 |
7 |
15 |
Portland
|
103 |
46.9 |
10-25 |
17-23 |
21 |
40 |
6 |
8 |
14 |
Upcoming Games
-
Portland will play their next game on the road against Houston. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .444 after a loss.
-
Toronto will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Raptors have a W/L % of .735 after a win and .562 after a loss.