Raptors pummel Hawks, extend win streak to 6

TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry combined for 38 points as the Toronto Raptors routed the Atlanta Hawks 128-84 on Saturday to stretch their winning streak to a season-best six games.

Lowry also had eight assists and Patrick Patterson tallied 17 points for Toronto who moved into a tie with Cleveland for first place in the NBA's Eastern Conference.

It was the sixth loss in a row for the Hawks (10-11), who also have dropped nine of their last 10 games.

The Raptors (14-6) led by as many as 21 points during the first half, were ahead by 15 points at halftime and by 16 after three quarters before running away with the contest in the fourth quarter.

Pascal Siakam contributed 12 points and DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph each had 10 for the Raptors.

Dennis Schroder and Tim Hardaway each scored 15 points for the Hawks, whose biggest lead was five points. Dwight Howard and Kris Humphries both had 10 points.

Howard said the Hawks have been blaming each other during the losing skid.

"We just have to stop getting frustrated at each other. We need to get out of our own heads," he said.

There were only two lead changes and three ties in the game.

A dunk by Lucas Nogueira gave Toronto a 23-point lead with just under 10 minutes remaining.

The Raptors got the lead to 34 with 5:57 to play on a three-pointer by Terrence Ross, who finished with 15 points.

Ross then hit a field goal to give Toronto a 38-point lead and Siakam's dunk extended the lead to 44 late in the game.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Raptors get on the board with Game 3 win over Cavaliers

The Toronto Raptors got their first win of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday with DeMar DeRozan scoring 32 points in a 99-84 Game 3 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Raptors led by as many as 18 in the second quarter, were ahead by 13 at halftime, and were up by 15 early in the fourth.

The Cavaliers, who did not lose a game in the first two rounds of the playoffs, cut the deficit to eight before Raptors center Bismack Biyombo made six successive points to increase the lead to 14 with 3:38 to play.

Kyle Lowry added 20 points for the Raptors, Cory Joseph had 14, DeMarre Carroll 10, and Patrick Patterson 10. Biyombo grabbed a franchise playoff record 26 rebounds and added seven points and four blocks.

LeBron James scored 24 points for the Cavaliers, who won the first two games of the series in Cleveland. J.R. Smith added 22 for Cleveland while Kyrie Irving had 13 and Channing Frye 11.

DeRozan's apparent 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first quarter was waved off after a review showed time had expired. Toronto settled for a 27-24 lead entering the second quarter.

Lowry picked up his third foul of the game with 8:07 left in the second quarter.

Joseph's 3-pointer with 4:09 to play in the second quarter gave the Raptors a 49-37 lead. After a Cavaliers' miss, Carroll made a 3-point shot for a 15-point Toronto lead. Patterson's layup with 1:22 to play boosted the advantage to 18.

James closed the half with a 3-pointer and the Raptors led 60-47.

Biyombo had no points but grabbed 16 first-half rebounds for Toronto. DeRozan led all scorers in the first half with 21 points. James led Cleveland with 14.

The Cavaliers opened the second half on a surge and had the lead down to six with 9:44 to play in the third quarter when James made a free throw after he was fouled making a layup.

After the Raptors went up by 11, Smith hit two straight 3-pointers to trim the lead to five with 4:20 to play in the third.

Joseph hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter to give Toronto an 80-70 lead.

The Raptors scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to go up by 15.

Richard Jefferson made a layup with 6:38 to play to cut Toronto's lead to 10.

Biyombo's hook shot put Toronto ahead by 12 points with 4:39 to play and his layup extended the lead to 91-77.

Biyombo was called for a flagrant foul on James and the two free throws cut the lead to 12 but the Cavaliers could not take advantage of their possession awarded after the foul shots.

Joseph's pullup jumper with 1:38 to play restored Toronto's 14-point lead.

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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Another win for Raptors, the beasts of the East

TORONTO -- Kyle Lowry scored 20 points and handed out 12 assists Wednesday to lead Toronto to a 105-89 NBA victory over Brooklyn that made the Raptors the first Eastern Conference team to 20 wins this season.

Patrick Patterson and Lou Williams contributed eight points apiece in the fourth quarter and Lowry scored six as the Raptors out-scored the Nets 29-16 in the final frame to pull away for their fourth straight win.

Toronto improved to 20-6 and have enjoyed three winning streaks of at least four games this season.

Mason Plumlee had 23 points to lead Brooklyn, Joe Johnson scored 17 and Mirza Teletovic added 14 in the first meeting between the Atlantic Division rivals since the Nets' seven-game win in the first round of last season's playoffs.

While the Raptors' star remained on the rise, the Cleveland Cavaliers and superstar LeBron James endured an embarrassing 127-98 pounding at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks.

The Cavs, expected to be instant contenders in the East thanks to the return of James after four seasons in Miami, were out-scored 30-15 in the third quarter on their home floor as the Hawks avenged a lopsided loss to Cleveland earlier in the season.

Shelvin Mack came off the bench to hit six three-pointers and score 24 points for Atlanta who improved to 18-7, their best start since the 2009-10 season.

James had 21 points, Dion Waiters added 21 points off the bench and Kevin Love provided 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Cavaliers, who have dropped three of their last four games.

"I really don't have too much to say," Cavaliers coach David Blatt said. "That was embarrassing how we played."

Miami, whose efforts to rebuild in the wake of James' departure have been hindered by a spate of injuries, endured another tough defeat, falling 105-87 to Utah.

Gordon Hayward scored 29 points with seven assists and six rebounds as the Jazz overcame a 42-point effort by Heat star Dwyane Wade.

Dante Exum, the Australian rookie who was the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft scored 10 points off the bench for Utah, following up a 12-point performance in a loss to New Orleans for his first back-to-back games in double figures.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com