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NBA: Raptors rebound from loss with three point explosion
LOS ANGELES, Feb 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – DeMar DeRozan delivered 35 points and
nailed a career-high matching six three pointers as the Toronto Raptors
rebounded from Thursday’s loss with an emphatic 130-105 demolition of the
Portland Trail Blazers.
The Raptors’ statement win on Friday night was not only their sixth
consecutive over Portland but it came less than 24 hours after a
disappointing 122-119 loss to the Washington Wizards.
“When you come off a loss like that you just can’t wait to get back on the
court and redeem yourself,” DeRozan said of the Raptors, who have the best
winning record (20-4) in the league at home.
“That’s what tonight was. We came back to our comfort zone on our home
floor and we just tried to have that energy that we didn’t have last night.”
Fred VanVleet scored 16 points, Kyle Lowry had 15 and Pascal Siakam 13 for
the Raptors, who made a season high 19 from beyond the arc.
DeRozan made 11 of 22 shots and matched his career-high for three-
pointers. He finished six for 10 from long range.
“So many options opened up I just tried to exploit them,” he said.
Toronto shot 19 for 40 from behind the arc, with nine players making at
least one three-pointer.
Portland’s Damian Lillard became the fastest player in club history to
reach 10,000 career points with a 32-point performance against Toronto.
The Blazers have lost five of their past seven on the road and they had a
four-game win streak halted.
CJ McCollum scored 21 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 20 as the Blazers opened
their February schedule on a losing note after winning a league high 11 games
in the month of January. – Lillard reaches 10,000 –
Lillard headed into the contest just 12 points away from 10,000. He
reached the milestone on a driving layup with 45 seconds left in the first
quarter, then passed it with a three pointer at 9:06 of the second.
MORE/MR/ 1140 hrs
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The Raptors’ season-long four-game homestand continues Sunday against
Memphis.
Elsewhere, Anthony Davis scored 43 points to help the New Orleans Pelicans
beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-100.
Davis made 17 of 34 shots and had 10 rebounds, and E’Twaun Moore added 26
points for the Pelicans.
Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook had 16 points, 14 assists and 10
rebounds for his 16th triple-double of the season. Steven Adams had 23 points
and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, who lost their third straight game after an
eight-game winning streak.
Westbrook approached a triple-double in the first half with nine points,
nine assists and seven rebounds to help the Thunder take a 58-54 lead at
halftime.
The Pelicans seized momentum early in the third quarter as they managed to
contain Westbrook enough to get the victory.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1140 hrs