Lowry Powers Raptors Past Timberwolves 94-89
TORONTO (AP) — Kyle Lowry scored 24 points, Amir Johnson had 19 and the Toronto Raptors beat Minnesota 94-89 on Friday night for their 10th straight home victory over the Timberwolves.
DeMar DeRozan shook off a poor shooting performance to score 15 points and Terrence Ross had 16 as the Raptors won their sixth straight home game. It's their longest home streak since an eight-game run from Jan. 17 to Feb. 10, 2010.
Lowry made a season-high 6 3-pointers as the Raptors won for the ninth time in 11 games and posted their 18th victory in 19 meetings with Minnesota.
Kevin Love had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Kevin Martin added 18 points for the Timberwolves, who lost their third straight. Jose Barea scored 14 and Nikola Pekovic had 13.
Toronto led 73-63 on a 3 by Greivis Vasquez with 8:44 left. But Minnesota answered with a 9-2 run, causing Toronto coach Dwane Casey to call timeout.
After hitting a pair of free throws, Martin drilled a 3 with 1:27 left, moving the Wolves within three at 85-82.
DeRozan hit a jump shot at the other end for his first basket of the second half. Barea missed a 3 and then, after a Wolves rebound, had his two-point shot blocked by Johnson. DeRozan grabbed the rebound and fed Lowry for a clinching 3 with less than 15 seconds to go.
DeRozan was 5 for 17 from the field, but had five rebounds and five assists.
DeRozan scored seven points in the first, two of them on an alley-oop pass from Lowry, as Toronto took a 22-15 lead after one. The Wolves missed eight of their first nine shots and went 6 for 23 in the opening quarter. They also were 5 for 8 at the line.
The 15 points allowed in the first were a season low for Toronto.
Lowry scored eight points in the second and Patrick Patterson had seven, but the Raptors lost ground. Pekovic scored seven points and the Wolves connected on 10 of 18 attempts, closing the half on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 44-40 at the intermission.
Lowry and Johnson each scored nine points in the third as the Raptors made four 3-pointers and pushed their lead back to 69-61 heading into the fourth.
NOTES: Minnesota's last win in Toronto was a 108-97 victory on Jan. 21, 2004. ... Raptors G John Salmons left in the second quarter with back spasms and did not return. ... Toronto F Tyler Hansbrough (left ankle) missed his seventh straight game. ... Love missed both meetings with Toronto last season due to injury, with the Wolves losing each game. ... The Raptors wore camouflage jerseys to mark Canadian Armed Forces Night. More than 400 members of Canada's military attended the game.
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