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Wednesday, December 28, 2016
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PORTLAND – No matter what city they visit lately, the Toronto Raptors feel right at home.
Kyle Lowry scored 27 points as the Raptors won their franchise-best seventh consecutive road game on Monday night with a 95-91 victory over the skidding Portland Trail Blazers.
It was the second stop on Toronto’s six-game swing out West, which will take the Raptors (22-8) to tough places such as Golden State and San Antonio.
But home or road these days, Toronto is proving to be a very difficult opponent. Though the Raptors’ usually prolific offense was slowed by Portland’s trapping defense, they found a way to pull out a highly competitive game in which neither team led by more than six points.
Toronto, which had reached 100 points in 16 straight games, used its defense and gritty play during the final five minutes to win its fourth in a row.
Toronto ran into a short-handed but extremely motivated Portland team that ultimately lost its sixth straight.
The Blazers (13-20) were without star guard Damian Lillard, who sat out with a sprained ankle. Lillard, averaging 27 points per game, was injured last Friday against San Antonio.
”Dame not playing, that’s a big chunk of potential 30-, 40-point game, but they’re still a very talented team. It was a tough task for us either way,” said Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan, who nearly had his first triple-double of the season with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
CJ McCollum scored 27 points to lead the Blazers, who have lost 10 of 11.
Toronto, averaging 112 points per game this season, scored only 43 during the first half and had just 22 in the fourth quarter. Portland’s blitzing, trapping defense made life difficult for the Raptors. Lowry and DeRozan combined to make 16 of 40 shots. (AP)
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