Lowry, Powell lead Raptors to 116-104 win over Nets (Dec 20, 2016)
TORONTO (AP) For the Toronto Raptors, one of the most enjoyable things about their latest victory was the way they got almost everyone involved.
Kyle Lowry had 23 points and eight assists, Norman Powell scored a season-high 21 off the bench and the Raptors defeated the Brooklyn Nets 116-104 on Tuesday night.
Lowry, who shot 8 of 12 from the field and 3 of 5 on 3-pointers, added four rebounds before sitting out the final 6 minutes as the first-place Raptors (20-8) won for the 12th time in 14 games. DeMarre Carroll added 17 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Six different Raptors scored in double figures. Toronto, which has won five straight meetings with the Nets, never trailed and led by as many as 23.
''I had a lot of fun out there. I think the whole team did tonight,'' Powell said.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 19 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Nets (7-20), who lost their third straight and fifth in six games. Spencer Dinwiddie added 14 points, and Justin Hamilton grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.
It was the 10th straight road loss for the Nets. They are 1-13 away from home this season.
''We didn't have a lot of intensity,'' former Raptors big man Luis Scola said. ''We weren't really playing like we should have been playing. Eventually, they made a run.''
The Raptors led 91-72 going into the fourth quarter thanks to a balanced offense. Five Toronto players scored in double figures through three, led by Lowry and Carroll with 17 apiece.
The Nets shot just 36 percent from the field through three quarters, including 26 percent from 3-point range. The Raptors were at 49 percent overall, including 44 percent from beyond the arc.
Toronto took a 64-46 lead into the halftime break.
The Nets cut the lead to four on Jeremy Lin's 3 with 4:33 to go in the second, but the Raptors closed the half on a 17-3 run to take control.
''I was upset at halftime,'' Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said. ''I told the team our inability to get back on defense just wasn't good enough.
''I was proud of the way our guys competed in the second half. In the first half, it wasn't good enough.''
Nearly half of the Nets' field goal attempts in the first half, 22 of 45 shots, were from 3-point range. They hit seven of them, while the Raptors were 5 for 9 from beyond the arc through two quarters.
The Raptors led 29-23 after one. They shot 52 percent from the field and every starter made at least one field goal. The Nets hit 43 percent from the floor in the quarter.
Lin, who finished with 12 points and four assists, said it ''felt like we didn't play as hard as we were supposed to and that's never a good thing.''
''We didn't do a good job of getting stops,'' Lin said of Toronto's decisive run to close out the second quarter. ''They did whatever they wanted, killed us in transition, they got to the free throw line and they got offensive rebounds.
''We didn't play with heart tonight.''
The comfortable lead gave the Raptors an opportunity to rest Valanciunas, who played just 22 minutes, and DeMar DeRozan, who had 15 points before sitting out the entire fourth quarter.
''Everyone is just involved and has the confidence to go out there and just play their game, and no one's worried about anything but us winning as a team,'' said Lowry, who logged 34 minutes.
TIP-INS
Nets: Brooklyn C Brook Lopez, the team's leading scorer, did not play (rest). Scola started at center and played 18 minutes. ... F Bojan Bogdanovic is the only Brooklyn player to start all 27 games this season. ... Brooklyn was 7 for 22 from 3-point territory in the first half and 3 of 13 in the second half.
Raptors: It was the 15th straight game in which the Raptors scored at least 100 points. ... F Patrick Patterson dressed but did not play (rest). ... Valanciunas had his team-leading 10th double-double of the season. ... Toronto dominated inside, outscoring the Nets 60-44 in the paint.
AT THE START
Lin, who had been coming off the bench since returning from a hamstring strain four games ago, got the start and played 25 minutes.
BACK IN TOWN
Scola and Anthony Bennett, who each played for the Raptors last season, made their first visits back to Toronto. Scola had nine points and five rebounds while Bennett had eight points and 10 rebounds.
MAKING HIS MARK
Toronto is 13-1 when Carroll scores in double figures.
DOUBLE DUTY
Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet became the first Toronto players to play for the Raptors and their D-League team on the same day. Each played 31 minutes earlier Tuesday as the Raptors 905 was defeated 114-87 by the Grand Rapids Drive and then played the final 2 minutes in the NBA game against the Nets.
UP NEXT
Nets: Brooklyn returns home to host the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, having lost both games in the series last season.
Raptors: Toronto, which has tied a club record with five straight road wins, begins a six-game trip out West beginning Friday night in Utah.
