The Raptors opened the fourth quarter on a 21-2 run to turn a one-point lead at the start of the quarter into a 20-point lead with 6:53 remaining. Brooklyn emptied its bench with 5:11 remaining and the Raptors went on to collect a 132-113 victory.
Patrick Patterson did not dress for Friday’s game. He was ruled out shortly before tipoff by Dwane Casey who said it was as much of a precautionary move as anything else, with Patterson feeling less than 100 percent. Although he played in the team’s previous two games, Patterson recently missed four games with a strained left knee. Casey said the team is erring on the side of caution to make sure he gets back to 100 percent. Prior to the game, Casey also announced that Lucas Nogueira would start at the power forward position against the Nets.
Unlike Toronto’s December 20 victory against Brooklyn, there was not a quick start this time around. The Raptors led by three after the opening quarter, thanks to an eight-point, six-rebound effort from Jonas Valanciunas, but couldn’t stretch the lead in the second, as Bojan Bogdanovic had a nine-point quarter and the Nets shot 50 percent from the floor. Brooklyn’s biggest advantage in the first half came from the three-point line. The Nets shot 8-for-17 from beyond the arc in the half while the Raptors connected on just two of 10 attempts. After leading by eight in the first quarter, the Raptors held a one-point lead at the halftime break.
Despite another huge third quarter from DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors weren’t able to make up any ground in the third with both teams scoring 36 points. DeRozan scored 19 in the quarter, making 9-of-17 shots as the Raptors shot 50 percent in the quarter. DeRozan taking over third quarters has become almost routine for Toronto this season. The Raptors went into the fourth with a 90-89 advantage, as DeRozan led all scorers with 28 points on 11-for-22 field goals.
Although DeMarre Carroll had a 14-point third quarter, the Raptors were unable to slow a Rockets team that was beginning to heat up from downtown. After Houston made just 2-of-17 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half, they connected on 6-of-13 three-point attempts in the third. James Harden scored 14 in the quarter, including a pull-up three-pointer at the buzzer to bring the Rockets within four going into the fourth.
DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 28 points in 30 minutes. He shot 11-for-22 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the free throw line while adding four rebounds and two assists. DeRozan’s 19-point third quarter paced the Raptors as they held onto a one-point lead to start the fourth. Kyle Lowry scored 20 points, including 10 in the final quarter as the Raptors pulled away. He shot 8-for-14 from the floor, 3-for-7 from beyond the arc and 1-for-2 from the free throw line while adding six rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
DeMarre Carroll had another strong effort, scoring 18 points to go with 11 rebounds in 29 minutes. He shot 7-for-16 from the floor, and the Raptors were a +14 when he was in the game. Cory Joseph had a fantastic effort of the bench, scoring 16 points in 22 minutes on a perfect 7-for-7 field goals. He added four rebounds, seven assists and a steal, with five of his assists coming in the fourth.
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